Billions of dollars are being spent for development. Electricity and water desalination are just a couple in the lots. The King is unfettered in his motive, the services has to reach his people without disruption. Best of all, he doesn't charge us for the massive investment. Remember, Saudi Arabia is one of the most arid countries in the world. It neither receives abundant rain nor has many sources of fresh water. Water that reaches us comes from an expensive process of desalination. In return for these perks, we are one of the world's highest water consumers – about 600-800 litres per day per person in major cities like Riyadh, Jeddah and Dhahran. Saudi Arabia has one of the largest per capita power consumption rates in the Middle East. Nearly 30 percent of rice Saudi Arabia consumes goes to trash. Saudis spend SR3 billion annually on rice, so a simple math calculation tells us that SR900 million worth of rice is wasted every year, and that's talking only about rice. People troubled with bills and taxes in other countries, wouldn't dare to leave unused lights on, let alone air conditioners and water taps. We live in a desert and yet we consume so much water, what does it speak of us? Marking the start of the electricity campaign, the King has called on ‘every individual' to rationalize power consumption. Yes, the Kingdom will spend SR200 billion to meet the growing demands of electricity and many more billions for water desalination, but do these boons, on the very least, require “any” responsibility on our behalf. __
