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Outdoor Updates: U.N. report finds unprecedented loss of biodiversity threatens humanity

U.N. report finds unprecedented loss of biodiversity threatens humanity

A summary released last week by the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services has found that there are dire, unprecedented threats to biodiversity and human survival currently taking place across the globe. The report, which will be released in full later this year, found that approximately 1 million plant and animal species face extinction and that in the last 120 years the number of living land species has decreased by 20 percent. In the water, 40 percent of amphibians and a third of coral species and marine mammals also face extinction. The summary found that the losses are a direct result of human action and threaten the foundations of our economies, food security and quality of life.

University of Georgia sprinter recovering after being impaled with a javelin

A sprinter at the University of Georgia was seriously injured during practice last week when he ran into a javelin sticking out of the ground and was impaled. Elija Godwin was running backwards when he collided with the javelin, which pierced his back and punctured and collapsed his left lung. Team trainers responded immediately, applying pressure to the wound. When first responders arrived they used a battery-powered angle grinder to cut the protruding parts of the javelin off so that Godwin could be transported to the hospital. Godwin underwent surgery to repair his lung and is expected to make a full recovery.

Allegheny County, Maryland to be a part of the new Great American Rail-Trail

The Allegheny Trail Alliance will partner with Rails-to-Trails Conservancy to make the Great Allegheny Passage a part of the “Great American” bike route, a cross-country, non-motorized, multi-use path that will eventually span 3,700 miles from the east coast to the west coast of the United States. The Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) forms a critical link of the longer route, providing nearly 150 miles of pathway from Cumberland, Maryland to Pittsburg. The GAP already receives over a million visitors a year and is maintained by residents and volunteers of Allegheny, Westmoreland, Fayette, Somerset, and Allegany Counties. The “Great American” route is already 50 percent finished. Once completed, it is expected to serve approximately 50 million people that live within 50 miles of the route.

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