The new coalition Government claims to be determined to clear up the “mess” left behind by the previous Government. So it is notable that Her Majesty’s gracious speech included no proposals to tackle one of the biggest “messes” of all – the intractable muddle of incompatible measurement units with which her UK (but not other Commonwealth) subjects have to struggle.
Glaring omission from Queen’s Speech
May 26th, 2010Kids don’t count
May 20th, 2010Two recent Channel 4 Dispatches programmes entitled “Kids Don’t Count” sought to demonstrate just that. But if you saw the programmes and are a regular reader of Metric Views, you may have wondered if the programmes overlooked the real problem. Read the rest of this entry »
Prospects for metrication progress under the new government
May 13th, 2010The makeup of the new coalition government and its policy programme are now broadly clear. How will it affect the prospects for progress on completing metrication?
The UK has a new Government. So what?
May 13th, 2010Metric Views reported a few days ago on the mixed fortunes of some of the parliamentary supporters and opponents of a single system of measurement for the UK. This produced several comments about the prospect of a new Government.
How big is that oil spill?
May 11th, 2010A reader of Metric Views points out that confusion on the reporting of this disaster is not limited to the UK.
Mixed electoral fortunes for metric supporters (and opponents)
May 8th, 2010At the time of writing we do not know the composition of whatever government may emerge from the current Parliamentary arithmetic. However, we can note the results of a number of supporters and opponents of metrication.
An improvement in the weather
April 23rd, 2010A recent exchange of e-mails between Ezra, a reader of MetricViews in the USA, and Tony, in the UK, suggests that recent years have seen changes for the better in weather reporting in the both the UK and Canada. Do other readers of MetricViews share Tony’s viewpoint? Read the rest of this entry »
Could a future Government reverse metrication?
April 16th, 2010A recent correspondent expressed the wish “Let’s hope the new (Conservative) government puts a stop to metrication as far as is practically possible.” Naturally, we disagree with this sentiment – but, whoever wins the election, what could they actually do to turn the clock back? and, realistically, what would they do?
How should we measure energy (and power)?
April 9th, 2010The recent consultation on so-called “calories” on menus, together with the launch of more new models of electric cars has prompted these thoughts on the dysfunctional way in which we measure energy and power. This muddle reflects a lack of understanding of basic science and prevents people from making useful comparisons. We should standardise on the joule (J) and the watt (W).
DfT imperialists waste more taxpayers’ money
April 5th, 2010The Department for Transport, who once described metrication of road signs as “a waste of taxpayers’ money”, have themselves been condemned by a House of Commons Select Committee for wasting £71 million on building 66 motorcycle testing stations in order that learner motorcyclists can take the manoeuvring elements of the driving test at the requisite 50 km/h (kilometres per hour), which would be illegal on quiet residential roads in urban areas where tests used to be conducted in the UK. Read the rest of this entry »