🍳 Cooking Emissions Rival Fossil Fuels in L.A.

🍳 Cooking Emissions Rival Fossil Fuels in L.A.

According to new research from NOAA, the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced from cooking food are now responsible for over a quarter of the ozone production from VOCs generated by human activity in the Los Angeles basin. This is roughly equal to the amount of ozone produced by VOCs from on-road and off-road motor vehicles. VOCs are one of two ingredients necessary for creating ground-level ozone, an air pollutant that in high concentrations is toxic to humans, animals, and plants. The study found that chemicals emitted by products such as paints, adhesives, pesticides, and personal care products during their normal use contribute to roughly 45% of the ozone pollution generated by human activities in the L.A. basin. Cooking emissions account for 26%, and fossil fuel sources contribute 29%.

NOAA Research

📊 Billion-dollar Weather and Climate Disasters Database Ends

NOAA announced on Thursday that it will be “retiring” its well-known billion-dollar weather and climate disasters database. This move will make it nearly impossible for the general public to track the cost of extreme weather and climate events. The disasters database, which spans extreme events since 1980, will no longer be updated beyond 2024. According to the database, there were 403 weather and climate disasters totaling at least $1 billion in the United States since 1980, with a combined price tag of nearly $3 trillion. Between 1980 and 2024, there were on average 9 billion-dollar events per year. In the past five years, the annual average jumped to 24. 2023 holds the record for the most such events with 28. The disasters database is the latest casualty of the shrinking NOAA workforce.

Andrew Freedman, CNN

📱Meta signs 310MW Solar Deal in Texas

Tech giant Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and other social apps, recently signed two Environmental Attribute Purchase Agreements (EAPAs) with solar developer Sunraycer Renewables for 310megawatts of solar PV in Texas. This agreement is another step to support Meta’s goal to match its operations with 100% clean and renewable energy. The two projects are expected to begin operation later this year as part of Meta’s broader goal of 4GW of solar and battery energy storage projects. Meta also signed a 25-year renewable energy purchase agreement with Sembcorp to procure power from a 150MWp floating solar project on Singapore’s Kranji Reservoir to support its data center operations in that region.

Shreeyashi Ojha, PVTech

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Check out the blogs from April:

• U.S. Weather Forecasts Could Soon Worsen

• Ball State’s Meteorology Program Shapes the Future of Weather Science

• AI Model Predicts Lightning-Induced Wildfires

• 2025 Hurricane Season Predictions