Abid Khazandar Al-Riyadh newspaper It is said that there will be a surplus of SR500 billion in next year's general budget. Many voiced their opinions on how to spend these extra funds. Some said the surplus finances should be spent on projects and services that have not yet been completed — such as sewage schemes, rain-drainage projects and the other sectors suffering from acute shortages such as the health sector.I do not doubt the validity and soundness of these ideas. However, I would like to suggest that some of the surplus money be used to establish a special fund to finance scientific research and to constitute an authority to choose the research works and the researchers who are entitled to benefit from these finances. The selected research works should focus on one area only, which is finding substitutes to oil. I will give an instance of this kind of research. Saudi student Khaled Bin Ali, who was studying on government scholarship in the United States, has obtained his PhD. degree from New Mexico University in industrial engineering. His thesis was on “the use of hen's feathers as an auxiliary substance to feed seaweeds in order to produce clusters for the production of all petroleum byproducts such as diesel, lubricant oils and others.” There are many alternatives to oil that have been considered. Among others, there's one that includes cultivating crops using salt water. There are many successful experiments in this field. Japan has succeeded in growing rice using saline water. Russia has also produced fodder with this process. The Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Animi said at the opening of King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST) that this institute would conduct researches on cultivating wheat using sea water. I know that there are some countries, such as Israel, which are doing the same thing. In addition to agriculture, there is knowledge industry. We should conduct researches and seek the best methods of consolidating knowledge. The proposed fund should not limit its finances to Saudis only. It should also finance research works on oil substitutes being made by foreigners even in their own countries. Last but not least, is water desalination. We should conduct research works on reducing its cost and using solar energy as fuel to run our factories. Nations will only progress and develop when there's lavish spending on scientific research.
