From the arching observation deck atop the Kingdom Tower, the 100-story skyscraper built by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal a few years ago, this entire city splays out in all directions, a blanket of lights unfurled to the horizon.
Seventy years ago, there was no tower, no lights — and almost all of the land was empty desert. The development is testament to the frenetic growth that oil brought to Saudi Arabia, but it's also a warning of what it holds for the kingdom's future.
All the lights, the roadways teeming with cars and the ambitious construction projections represent growing demand for its own energy. The more oil Saudi Arabia pumps, the more it uses. Petrodollars spawn development that, in turn, spawns consumption.
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