Demand for oil tumbles on the back of weak demand

Industrial output in Germany dropped in August, the lowest since January 2009, putting pressure on European equities and leading to weak demand for oil. Europe and China are experiencing stagnation, thereby making it difficult for the oil price to climb up.

The US Energy Information administration (EIA) made a discouraging forecast, which added to the bearish sentiment. Brent November crude fell $1.03 at $91.76 per barrel, while Brent dropped to a contract low of $91.25 on Monday. US November crude oil fell 96 cents at $89.38.

Iran has declared that OPEC does not intend to hold an emergency meeting to deliberate the drop in oil prices. OPEC oil ministers are slated to meet in Vienna on November 27 to consider making adjustments to their output of 30 million barrels per day. Unless OPEC doesn’t take measures to reduce supply, oil prices will likely remain under pressure.

Brent crude long futures and options positions on the Intercontinental Exchange fell by a sixth in the week to September 30, which points to the fading investor expectations for higher prices.

US crude oil output has risen over 3 million barrels per day since 2010 amidst a global economic slowdown and increase in efficiency has limited growth in oil demand. Experts suggest that the current oil market scenario represents the effect of the colossal rise in US oil production.

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Global crop yields may slowdown

Over the next two decades we may witness a slowdown in the growth of crop yields around the globe, thanks to climate change. In the next 20 years climate change will make it extremely difficult for crop yield to meet the ever-increasing demand.

New research indicates that the possibility of a major slowdown in the production of wheat and corn, despite the warming climate, is highly unlikely. However, the risk to crop yields is about 20 times higher and this would require environmental organizations as well as establishments affected by international food availability and price to formulate strategic plans.

Researchers used computer models of global climate and information about weather and crops to estimate the chances that climatic change would impact crop yields in the coming years. They stated that climatic trends would have a negative effect of 10 per cent on yields. This would have a significant impact on food supply. Growth in crop yields would continue but the slowdown would bring down the rate of growth by half as demand increases sharply.

Researchers found that the odds of natural shifts in climate causing slowdown over the next 20 years are 1 only in 200. However, when human-induced global warming was taken into account, the chances rose to 1 in 10 for corn and 1 in 20 for wheat.

Yield of crops like wheat and corn have risen by 1-2 per cent in the past few years and the global production of major crops is expected to hit 13 per cent per decade through 2030. The rise in global crop production during the next two decades can be attributed to population growth, increased per-capita food consumption and growing use of biofuels.

Researchers relied on simulation from an NCAR-based climate model as well as other models to figure out changes in temperature and precipitation over the next two decades for crop-intensive areas in the context of increasing carbon dioxide. They also made use of the same model simulations without human-induced increases in carbon dioxide to estimate trends in a natural climate.

They also performed statistical analysis to assess the effects if change in temperature and precipitation on yields of wheat and corn in different parts of the world and during specific times of the year.

The researchers affirmed that warming climate would lead to reduced yields. We can try and reduce the impact of changing climate by growing wheat and corn in cooler regions, however the researchers didn’t find sufficient evidence which could prove that adaptation strategies (changes in growing practices or crop varieties) would balance the impact of warming climate.

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Renewable energy may be the way out of economic quagmire for Egypt

Lack of abundant financial resources combined with the failure to form strategic plans is responsible for Egypt’s energy crisis.  Mohamed Shoeb, former president of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company, said, "The energy problem is well known. Its solutions are also well known, but there is no will to solve it."

Experts suggested that the government should come up with innovative solutions. Solar energy is considered to be a viable and beneficial option for Egypt. Nations like Germany have formulated a plan to produce electricity from renewable energy by 2050. Solar energy has become extremely inexpensive; the cost of it has decreased by 90 per cent in the past 10 years.

Experts opined that smart electricity meters can bring down consumption in peak hours and thereby reduce electricity cuts. Power cuts have become frequent since 2008, but the cuts were limited to summer months. However, in the winter of 2012-12 blackouts became common.

The government can lower consumption of households that make use of several air conditioners or other power-hungry electronic devices.

Households can also increase use of energy saving LED light bulbs, which will reduce consumption by almost 20 per cent. "There are several ideas that can be studied and implemented, but we have been very slow," says Mohamed Moussa Omran, undersecretary of the Ministry of Electricity.

Despite being the first region to start use of solar energy, they were left behind by countries like Bahrain, UAE and Saudi Arabia, which have started use of smart meters. "Transparency is missing, and that is a problem that needs to be solved. The government thinks the people are not capable of understanding the problem," says Shoeb.

Egypt expects to use nearly 2,500 megawatts yearly for the next five years in order to meet the rising demand, at a cost of $2.5 billion per annum. Egypt would also require funds to set up power stations, and fuel needs would cost at least $700 million per station per year. Foreign investors are crucial to the process of developing power stations as well as the power grid.

Nearly 80 per cent of Egypt’s electricity needs are met with the help of natural gas, the production of which has declined tremendously in recent years as a result of political instability and rising government debts have made foreign energy companies hesitant to invest in development of new gas fields. 

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Toxic chemicals used in lotions may prove harmful for human health

In today’s generation many people are found using various types of cosmetic products on to their skin for a softer, fairer and smooth skin. With the upcoming of different brands most of the individuals nowadays prefer to pick and choose the best brand for their skin. However, they are not aware of harmful chemicals such as toxic chemicals used while making the cosmetic products, which at a later stage can destroy overall health. These toxic chemicals that are being used in the products can cause disease like tumors and cancer, and also cause dryness and irritation to the human skin.

Nowadays, most of the branded companies have come up with various lotions for smoother, softer and moist skin throughout the year and for all types season. The uses of hand or body lotions are mostly seen during winter as less moisture is present in air.

According to reports, in today’s world apart from various cosmetic product lotions have also become an essential accessory, which is applied several times a day. Moreover, lotion is basically prepared to treat the unbroken skin which reprieves the skin short term only. However in the long run, it in fact makes the problems worse as number of hand lotions contain toxic chemicals which over a time period get accumulated in increasingly greater amounts in the fatty tissues and liver and thus cause problems in long term.

Most of the lotions are a mixture of oil-in-water with a use of a matter such as cetearyl alcohol, to keep the mixture together, however the water-in-oil lotions are also formulated. Most of the common chemicals which are found in commercial hand lotion consist of mineral oil, parabens (propylparaben, ethylparaben, methylparaben), alcohols, aluminum and other petroleum products which are known to cause skin irritation and dryness. These chemicals that have been applied via lotion onto the skin are absorbed directly into the blood stream.

Toxic chemicals like Paraben and Petroleum affect the overall health of human bodies causing disease like cancer and tumors. Paraben chemical which is used in lotions gets accumulated in the human body affecting the liver, breasts and fatty tissues and are also known for causing dry, irritation and sensitizing skin and also triggering allergic reactions.

Whereas according to the researched studies, cancerous tumors and long-term dryness of skin are caused by petroleum chemical. As per analysts, quite a number of people don’t bother to go through the ingredients list on their cosmetic and other products.

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