The Medical Association of Antioquia called on the National Government, as well as the regional and local ones, to establish long-term measures for air pollution, due to the effects on health that this represents.
As of this February 14, Medellín and the other nine municipalities of the Aburrá Valley are in the first episode of air quality, which will last until April 8.
For this occasion, additional measures such as the pick and plate for cargo vehicles and the extension of the restriction for motorcycles and cars, outside the usual, have not yet been activated. In addition, the circulation permit was not suspended either, which gives people the possibility of paying to leave on the day that the peak and license plate corresponds to them.
“The transitory measures that establish social differentiations based on the possibility of paying money or not to be able to circulate do not solve the problem and are just lukewarm water wipes (…) Taking into account the serious impact on human health, which represents the air pollution,” said Carlos Valdivieso, president of the Antioquia Medical College.
From the environmental authority they indicated that, according to the measurements and forecasts, this episode will not be as strong as the one that occurred in 2020, but not as mild as it was last year, in which there was no restrictive measure.
However, according to how the measurements evolve and external factors such as forest fires that affect air quality, strict measures would be taken.
“It is very possible that from February 21 there will be a peak and license plate for cargo vehicles, but it will depend on how the indicators are. It will be time that will tell if additional measures are taken, such as the suspension of the special circulation payment,” said Juan David. Palacio, director of the Aburrá Valley Metropolitan Area.
In any case, Valdivieso asked the authorities to issue more long-term measures.
“We invite the authorities of the national, regional and local order to seriously and responsibly address the present and the future of urban mobility. It is essential to generate regulations and incentives that will allow us, within 15 to 20 years, to replace the mobility linked to fossil fuels,” he said.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday said it will hear two cases that could determine if race can be used as a factor for college admission.
The cases, brought by the conservative group Students for Fair Admissions, targets Harvard, the country’s oldest private school, and the University of North Carolina, one of the nation’s oldest public schools.
FILE – People walk past an entrance to Widener Library, behind, on the campus of Harvard University, in Cambridge, Mass., July 16, 2019.
The group maintains Harvard discriminates by using a quota-like system that disproportionately rejects qualified Asian applicants thus violating their civil rights.
“Harvard’s mistreatment of Asian-American applicants is appalling,” the plaintiffs wrote in their brief in the Harvard case. “That Harvard engages in racial balancing and ignores race-neutral alternatives also proves that Harvard does not use race as a last resort.”
Harvard says race is only one consideration for admission.
“Harvard does not automatically award race-based tips but rather considers race only in a flexible and non-mechanical way; consideration of race benefits only highly qualified candidates; and Harvard does not discriminate against Asian-American applicants,” the school wrote the court in its brief.
At UNC, Students for Fair Admissions is demanding a colorblind admissions process.
“Public schools have no legitimate interest in maintaining a precise racial balance,” Students for Fair Admissions wrote in its brief to the court.
Both cases are seen as landmark challenges to affirmative action policies in university admissions. Affirmative action seeks to address disadvantages and discrimination certain groups have historically faced in America and ensure equal access of opportunity in education, employment and other areas.
UNC Charlotte’s website says it enrolls “a diverse, competitive class of scholars” each year and that the university prides itself “on being one of the most diverse public universities” in the state. The site adds: “Having a diverse student body gives our students the opportunity to learn from other students from different backgrounds and cultures … to create a holistic and informed academic and social experience.”
Institutions of higher learning that prioritize achieving racially-diverse student bodies have at times been accused of watering down admissions criteria for certain minority applicants and, in effect, penalizing more qualified applicants from other groups.
Chief Justice John Roberts has been an outspoken critic of affirmative action, famously declaring in a 2006 opinion, “It is a sordid business, this divvying us up by race.”
The cases will likely be heard during the Supreme Court’s 2022 term, which starts in October.
Some information in this report comes from Reuters.
