Have you ever traveled
to another country? You get into a taxi to go to the hotel, and in route
see that the rate is five dollars for ever 100 meters. By the time you
arrive at the hotel, you still haven’ t figured the conversion out.
Thankfully, the cab driver speaks English, and tells you the amount. At
the hotel after your encounter, you turn on the TV to get the weather
but surprise- the weather is presented in Celsius. So you grudgingly
convert the temperature, and think you change it correctly. Sadly the
next day you are wearing shorts in 35 degrees Fahrenheit. The moral to
the story, is that on a small scale these conversions are a minor
annoyance, but on the scale of a country it can greatly harm the
economy. The lack of a permanent transfiguration over to the metric system is a drain on the US economy. On a side note, other parts of the world refer to the English system as the Imperial System. So for this article, the term Imperial System will be substituted for English System. As a nation, the USA is the only country without a National Metrication Policy as stated in an October 5, 2011 article of StatesmanJournal.com. According to this article in 1978, a large accounting firm found that the cost is somewhere in the “billion dollar range" . With that in mind, this conversion process to the metric system is clearer to see as an issue that needs to be addressed. In this same article, it verbalizes that the Imperial System is a outdated form of measurement, and a weakening of our world stature. When it comes to world stature, as a nation, most of the products that we produce are exported to other countries that we make products for. Therefore, countries that are trying to convert, are harmed in their process of conversion by the influx of our Imperial System goods. A similar predicament happened in Jamaica according to Lennox Salmon. He works in the Metrication Department of Jamaica.
In a world reliant on
technology, everything in life has become more precise. Yet, The USA
still clings to a system that is not precise, and causes problems for
many that use it. Now it is time for a small lesson. The metric system
is based on ten. For example ten meters equals one decimeter and ten
decimeters equals by one hectometer. With this system it is easier to
read the measurement, and can be used for extreme situations. An example
would be microscopic cells, and the distance from the Earth to the
moon. That is why most fields of science use only the metric system for
all measures, or they are forced to convert to metric. Such conversions
are costly. For example, on November 10, 1999, as reported by Wired
magazine, the Mars climate orbiter was disintegrated in Mars’ atmosphere
because of the human error of not converting pounds to kilograms. So
the orbiter didn't have enough thrust to keep itself in orbit. Now this
is a small mistake, but can we accept this kind of error when humans are
piloting a similar craft?A new wave of technology has emerged in recent years. Why do we insist on using an old system of measurement? Furthermore, the metric system of measurements is the system better suited for our future. However, it would take time to morph people out of there old habits. With the recent economic downturn in the United States, we are looking for any kind of leg up. One way for the USA to achieve this goal of helping the economy is converting over to the metric system. What do the unindustrialized countries of Myanmar and Liberia have in common with the USA? Well, these two third world countries and the USA are nations that still rely on the English system of measure. It stands to reason that, aligning ourselves with such countries will not help us progress towards the future.
Most of the time people
are against the thought of changing over to the metric system. The
majority of people have been conditioned to these habits their entire
lives. Also, they believe that the cost of conversion is more than the
USA can afford. These costs include education of the young and
conversion of signs, just to name a few. Still others don't even see
conversion as an issue, because the English system has worked well in
the USA for years. Another problem is having a dual system until metric
is fully integrated into society. Such problems are happening in
Ireland, as stated by the Irish Times on September 28, 2011. Why change
now or ever? This is a common question many people ask, and this is the
reason conversion has not happened sooner.Why do people still like an old and outdated system of measure, given the many advancements in society and daily life? It is because, we as a country have become complacent. Conversion to the metric system of measure is an issue that the USA has tried to put off for years. In this fast paced world we live in, why should the way we measure our lives be slower than the rest of the world?
