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Some of the statistics seem to be so hyperbolic and I wonder whether it is due to Americas preference for the imperial units rather than metric units. It is muc

Some of the statistics seem to be so hyperbolic and I wonder whether it is due to Americas preference for the imperial units rather than metric units. It is much better to use terms that people can readily visualize. Does the writer prefer gallons because it makes it look so many? Why not barrels instead? 400 tons of contaminated water a day - lets say matric. = a 7.3 meter cube 962,000 ~ 1,000,000 tonnes of water accumulated so far - a 100 meter cube 64,700 cubic meters, 17 million gallons of radio active clothing - 40 meter cube. 200,400 cu m3 of contaminated rubble - a 60 meter cube. Why doesn't the writer use stats or pictures people can visualize? Like compare it to the size of the Empire State Building, former World Trade Centres etc? Is he hiding the extent of the damage or expressing it in meaningful terms? At least we can extrapolate the extend of the problem into the future. 3.5 billion gallons of contaminated soil ~ 13 million cubic meters of soil, a 235 meter cube. So after analyzing these figures - is using millions and billions truly expressing the extent of the problem or just obfuscating it, with incomprehensible figures, no matter or large they may be? I guess it is time now to work out how meters compare with the heights of buildings and street blocks. E & OE

freehunter 10y ago
>It is much better to use terms that people can readily visualize. That's why they use imperial units. It's the New York Times, an American newspaper writing for an American audience. I'm pretty familiar with metric units but even I have a hard time with "one meter" until I remember it's the same as a yard. What's a kilometer? I don't know, but it's a half a mile to the coffee shop from my house. That's pretty easy for me to visualize. What I absolutely cannot visualize is how big the Empire State Building is. Absolutely terrible comparison, IMO. I have no idea how big the Empire State Building is. But I know how much a gallon is, and my car weighs two tons, so that's pretty easy.

freehunter 10y ago

>It is much better to use terms that people can readily visualize. That's why they use imperial units. It's the New York Times, an American newspaper writing for an American audience. I'm pretty familiar with metric units but even I have a hard time with "one meter" until I remember it's the same as a yard. What's a kilometer? I don't know, but it's a half a mile to the coffee shop from my house. That's pretty easy for me to visualize. What I absolutely cannot visualize is how big the Empire State Building is. Absolutely terrible comparison, IMO. I have no idea how big the Empire State Building is. But I know how much a gallon is, and my car weighs two tons, so that's pretty easy.