The Transport Department’s refusal to comply with Government policy on metrication is the biggest remaining obstacle to completing the metric changeover. But how can the DfT defend this example of non-joined-up government?
Minister agrees it is time to clear up “very British mess”
In response to UKMA’s patron, Lord Howe, the junior Health Minister, Baroness Thornton said she “absolutely agreed” that it is “time for all of us, in all parties,…. to work together to clear up this long-standing and very British mess.” She added “This is a matter that will solve itself over time but it is our job in government to move as fast as we can towards people recognising and feeling comfortable using metric calculations.”
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Spare a thought for any would-be Brysons out there
What units do you choose when you are writing travel books and other popular non-fiction for English speakers, wherever they might be found? (Article written by a reader of Bill Bryson’s books) Continue reading “Spare a thought for any would-be Brysons out there”
Muddle in Myanmar too?
One of our readers in the US, Ezra Steinberg, provides this comment on the situation in Myanmar. Continue reading “Muddle in Myanmar too?”
Will the new Parliament be more pro-metric?
Although it is widely assumed that the next Parliament (to be elected no later than June 2010) will contain more Conservative and fewer Labour MPs, is it possible that they may be more sympathetic to completing the metric changeover? (Article based on a draft by Martin Vlietstra.)
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Why scientists should join the metrication campaign
Scientists often complain that they are much misunderstood and they worry that they are failing to get their message across to the general public. At the same time, most scientists refuse to get involved in the campaign to persuade the Government and the general public to complete the metric changeover. Could there be a connection?
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Will the European Commission challenge US labelling rules?
A recent posting by NIST (the National Institute of Standards and Technology) has prompted this question: Are American labelling requirements now illegal under WTO rules?
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Tory spokesman supports centilitres of alcohol
In a commendable outbreak of common sense, Conservative health spokesman, Andrew Lansley, has proposed that, in order to clarify the amount of alcohol being consumed, bottles and cans should be labelled with the quantity of pure alcohol in centilitres rather than in so called “units”. But will this lead to a wider realisation that draught beer should also be measured in litres?
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Metrication progress in Malaysia
Metric use in Malaysia in 2010 may give a foretaste of the situation in the UK in 2020 …or 2030 …or 2040. Our correspondent reports on a recent visit.
Why do nautical miles linger on?
I recently had an exchange of correspondence with an acquaintance (a former RAF pilot) who tried to explain to me why most of the world of aviation still uses nautical miles and knots rather than kilometres and km/h. The explanation went like this.
Metric Views 