Asia: 

Recently, it was announced that President Donald Trump would make another trip to Asia to engage in another summit with North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Un. If it’s anything like the first summit last summer, its purpose will be to continue to promote peace in the Korean Peninsula, and bring its namesake conflict to an end.

Why You Should Care: 

The Korean Conflict, including the War that ensued from it, has consumed too many lives. The very existence of two Korea’s instead of one is itself a remnant of the Cold War that still hasn’t been cleaned up yet. It will be up to the future generations to clean up the rest of the Cold War’s mess, so those of them should be always on the lookout, and hope that Trump’s efforts aren’t in vain.

North America: 

The United States decided to not support “welcoming” a “landmark study on worldwide climate change” that was proposed by the United Nations in response to the climate report released in October which detailed that “the world might be on a path toward catastrophic climate change if greenhouse gas emissions aren’t cut dramatically by 2030.”

Why You Should Care: 

If the threat of climate change is to be believed by most Boulder High students, this should concern them that their country might not be going in the right direction with the environment. If they think that climate change should be prevented, then stories like this can motivate them to do something about it – whether it be voicing their opinions via voting in elections, contacting Senators, or even pitching in work themselves in whatever ways possible to be green, or whatever else may come to mind. Now is not the time to stand around idly. Youth activism is essential in any day and age, especially now and in the years to come.

South America:

Venezuela has recently undergone further tumultuous times after its current president, Nicolas Maduro, was challenged in legitimacy by his opposition, Juan Guaido. For at least the past year if not longer, the controversy of Maduro has been in public eye outside of Venezuela itself. The western world has highly criticized Maduro’s regime, often described as socialism-gone-wrong, while America’s opponents such as Russia and China have come to Maduro’s defense. Even Turkey, a NATO country that had thus far been on the West’s side, has defended Maduro. There have been numerous protests in response to price hikes on just about everything, food shortages, government corruption, etc. Name it, it’s probably happening in Venezuela.

Why You Should Care: 

Good citizens of not just their respective country, but of the world, should always be vigilant of any injustices being commited. Maduro’s regime is one such example. Kids at Boulder High grow into young adulthood surrounded by an inclusive community that loves all people, and treats them with respect and dignity. As such, those here in Boulder should want to find a way to help those afflicted, whether it be donating something like food or clothes, or taking in refugees from the country as well as other places. As well, living in Boulder, a traditionally left-leaning city, its inhabitants might want to consider stepping out of their political comfort zone to take a look at what happens when socialism goes horribly wrong, and keep it in consideration.

Europe: 

French President, Emmanuel Macron, is currently in hot water with the people he’s supposed to represent. Since November of 2018, the people of France have been up in arms about some current issues in the country, such as: rising fuel prices done by Macron to encourage people to move to electric cars so as to combat global CO2 emissions, high cost-of-living, and heavy tax burdens on the middle and lower classes. Super Bowl weekend marks the 12th straight weekend of what are called “Yellow Vest” protests, given that name due to the fact that most of the protesters wear yellow safety vests that are normally issued to everyone.

Why You Should Care: 

Despite the “Yellow Vest Movement” seeming as a mostly pro-left-wing series of protests, people from across the political spectrum have been teaming up to make their voices heard. Some are against the high fuel prices not only because it’s expensive, but because either A: they think there are better ways to combat contributors to climate change, or B: the more right-wing-leaning people think trying to combat climate change is a waste of money. But it’s also not even just people of varying different democratic ideologies; monarchists have been spotted waving flags from France’s pre-1789 Revolution monarchy at protests, who think that if the protests get crazy enough (they have been getting violent, and the police have even threatened to join them,) maybe the Republic can be overthrown. It’s a lot more complicated than most may think. People concerned with keeping left-wing politics on center-stage (as most BHS kids probably are or will be) should worry if the world might be on a change of course to the political right.

Africa: 

Poachers are on the road to driving African parrots to extinction with their extensive capturing of said birds to be sold as “exotic” pets in Asia and the Middle East. This practice is of course dangerous to the native life in Africa that call the various regions of the continent their home.

Why You Should Care: 

Readers may be wondering how just capturing animals to be resold into captivity is causing their extinction. Here’s the thing; the word “extinct” can be used in more ways than just one. In the case of this story, it means that there could be none left in the wild if the poachers are left to continue their work. Even if they still exist in captivity, African parrots would be considered extinct in the wild. Naturally, that could and should concern those who care about the existence of all creatures. After all, in recent years, humans have been trying to keep animals from going extinct. We’ve already lost other species like certain types of rhinos. This can’t be allowed to continue.

Oceania: 

It has become apparent that people in the Philippines spend the most time online, with their average being around 10 hours a day, far ahead of the USA, whose people are typically only online for around 6 hours a day. The people that spend the least time are also in Asia, with the Japanese only spending around 3o minutes a day on the web. It should also be noted that specifically, Filipinos spend the majority of their Internet hours on social media.

Why You Should Care: 

While it’s good that us Americans spend much less time online than say the Philippines, 6 hours a day is still a lot. It’s also a well known thing that teens, BHS kids included, spend a lot of time on the Internet, usually on our phones (probably why the no-phone rule is still a thing.) We can do better. We shouldn’t let screens and apps dictate the majority of our lives. In the digital age, with technology ever-increasing its presence, that will obviously be a hard choice to make, but it must be done. Do note that usually, the more time one spends on social media, the more depressed one can get. Just know the risks, try to put down the screen, and do more in real life.