The Wolf of Los Angeles.

Washington, D.C., Clean Water Foundation.

Claire stood in the company lobby, giving a joint interview to multiple media outlets.

The First Lady spoke eloquently, her topic always revolving around the sudden water crisis in Southern California: "The poisoning incident in Green Valley and the Los Angeles fire must never be repeated. We must pay attention to the water security of drought-stricken areas. In order to deal with this natural disaster, the foundation sent a team of nine experts to the Los Angeles area to conduct research."

A reporter from The Washington Post asked, "Any results?"

Claire's expression was extremely serious: "Temperatures and sunshine intensity in Southern California are continuing to rise. In the Ivanhoe Reservoir alone, the daily evaporation is enough to power tens of thousands of people. The Los Angeles Department of Water and the water company have also strengthened their monitoring and treatment of water quality, but bromides synthesized by ultraviolet radiation are still threatening the water safety of every Southern Californian."

Some people questioned, "But there haven't been any major problems in the past."

“Because extreme drought and heat like this are rare even in Southern California,” Claire said with a pained expression. “Do we have to wait for another Green Valley incident or the Los Angeles wildfire before we consider it a major problem? Can’t we nip problems and disasters in the bud?”

The reporter readily apologized: "I'm sorry, I oversimplified things."

Claire didn't forget to promote her foundation and mission: "We have accepted the invitation from Los Angeles and the Clean Water Foundation will be fully involved in this incident. After the first expert team arrived in Los Angeles, we are forming a second expert team and have also joined forces with several well-known environmental and water resource organizations to strive to resolve this crisis as soon as possible."

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives held an emergency meeting to discuss water security issues in Southern California.

Representative McEnany, an Elephant Party member from the Greater Los Angeles district, spoke out loudly at the meeting.

“Rainfall in Southern California this rainy season is far below normal, approaching the red line seen during the Los Angeles wildfires. In Sheila Snowfield, a crucial water source for Los Angeles, rainfall is only 35% of normal, but evaporation is 67% higher than normal. If we do not take action, a crisis similar to the Los Angeles wildfires will erupt again.”

The House of Representatives passed a bill supporting California's water security with a vote of 369 to 55.

…………

In Los Angeles, a discussion on protecting water resources has begun.

The conference was hosted by the Los Angeles Department of Water and invited social celebrities, citizen representatives, and many experts, including Professor Grealish and Professor Fink.

In addition, Governor Brian also traveled from Sacramento to attend the meeting.

Hawke and Caroline, as representatives of social elites, sat in the most inconspicuous corner of the conference room, listening to the speeches of experts and citizen representatives.

From the governor to government officials, experts, and citizens, everyone involved in this meeting was, strictly speaking, his man.

Even the media reporters who attended the entire meeting came from Twitter and Fox News.

Therefore, Hawke doesn't need to speak; he can just wait for the final result.

“We conducted detailed tests on the water supply to all water plants and towns in the Los Angeles area,” the water department head said after his assistant handed out the test reports to everyone present. “Except for the aging Fratt Water Plant near the Ivanhoe Reservoir, the water quality in all other areas is above the safety line.”

A citizen representative immediately countered: "With the weather getting hotter and the drought worsening, and evaporation increasing, can you guarantee that bromide levels won't exceed the standard?"

Another citizen said, "The bromide levels were already too high!"

A government official automatically chimed in: "But it's still within the normal range that the human body can tolerate."

The initial disagreement between the two sides gradually escalated into a full-blown argument.

Governor Brian acted decisively, interrupting the increasingly heated speeches from both sides, and said, "Gentlemen, please listen to me! We are here today to solve problems, not create more."

The crowd quickly quieted down.

Brian glanced at Hawke, who remained silent, then turned to Grealish: "Professor, you are an expert in this field. Please answer the citizens' questions directly."

With the stage set up and performance fees collected, Professor Grealish was naturally prepared to put on a good show. He said, "According to meteorological models that gather information from multiple sources, Southern California and the surrounding arid regions will enter a dry period for at least the next fifteen years. We must prepare in advance!"

He adjusted his glasses and had a series of documents delivered to everyone: "This is a statistical report on evaporation that my team conducted starting from late March this year. Rainfall has decreased significantly, while evaporation has increased dramatically. The situation will be even worse in the following four months, May, June, July, and August, with evaporation possibly doubling!"

Brian was quite direct: "That means Los Angeles' water security will face a major threat."

Professor Grealish replied categorically, "Yes! I am concerned that the bromide levels in the water could be 30 times the normal level."

Many people present were quite surprised.

Because, except for a small number of people, they are unaware that almost everyone here is on the same side.

Brian looked at the group of experts: "Can we develop a plan as soon as possible to avoid a serious situation as much as possible?"

He specifically mentioned, "I don't want to see another Los Angeles fire."

Since the Los Angeles wildfires, although wildfires still occur in Los Angeles every year, they have all been normal and controllable fires, and none have gotten out of control.

In fact, few people know that the Los Angeles fire was a man-made disaster.

Many citizen representatives and social celebrities spoke out.

"We must never let another Los Angeles fire happen again!"

"We must protect Los Angeles' water resources at all costs!"

Many of those attending this hearing were victims of the Los Angeles fires.

The pain of losing a home is felt most clearly by those burdened with mortgages.

The house is gone, but the loan still needs to be paid.

Brian asked again, "Are there any effective measures?"

Professor Jinx from the University of California said, "Years ago, Los Angeles faced a similar severe drought and water shortage. At that time, it was suggested to cover the reservoir with sunshade cloth, but this had to be abandoned due to high costs and safety concerns." Professor Fink added, "The water-soluble safety of plastic products does need to be considered. The reservoir provides not only fire-fighting water but also daily water for the residents."

Two experts were also present, both from West Coast Environmental Technology Company.

This company has extensive collaborations with multiple cities in Southern California on urban services projects, including water, fire protection, and municipal services.

I was specially invited to attend today.

Alfred then spoke up, "The West Coast Environmental Technology Laboratory improved a polyethylene material a few years ago, making its molecular structure more compact. Even if it is exposed to sunlight, water and friction for a long time and ages, the molecules that degrade into the water are almost the same as those in natural water sources, and it is completely harmless to humans and animals."

Governor Brian appeared extremely cautious: "Are you sure?"

“That’s absolutely certain,” Alfred said immediately. “We’ll submit a three-year experiment report to the governor’s office later.”

Brian said, "Okay."

Professor Grealish said, "I know this material from the West Coast is safe, reliable, and relatively inexpensive. It is used in my lab and is among the safest chemical resin products."

Alfred searched online, found relevant images, and had his meeting assistant project them onto the projection screen.

He pointed to the densely packed black plastic spheres on the screen and said, "These are called bird balls. They are currently widely used in the waters near airports. Airports often need to store a lot of water to deal with fires. This water is usually placed in huge ponds, which can easily attract birds to come and forage, thus causing safety hazards. So the airport will put these black spheres in the ponds to cover all the water surface, so that the birds cannot get water."

“That’s a good idea!” Professor Jinx chimed in. “We can make spheres out of high-molecular-weight polyethylene and cover the water surface with them. Each hollow sphere is filled with air, so even if the sphere gets heated on the water, the air inside can act as an insulation layer, ensuring that most of the heat is not directly transferred to the water, thus effectively reducing evaporation.”

He was concerned about another aspect and asked, "What about the cost?"

Before Alfred could respond, a citizen spoke up: "Right now, our primary concern is water security, not cost. Shouldn't all taxpayers' taxes be spent on ensuring their safety?"

This statement is so politically correct that no one will argue with it.

Alfred waited a moment before speaking, “This high-molecular-weight polyethylene material is relatively inexpensive. Considering the area and evaporation rate of the Ivanho Reservoir, it can offset the cost of water evaporation in about five years. Other intangible reductions, such as those in fire hazard and health costs, may be even greater. And these materials can be used for at least 15 years.”

Professor Fink continued, "There's another point we can't ignore: the strategic importance of ensuring water security. If there are water problems in Los Angeles and Southern California, will those large corporations move out of California? Will companies that intend to set up operations in California choose other regions instead?"

An older resident said, "The Los Angeles fire burned away hundreds of billions of dollars in wealth."

Compared to the painful lessons and economic losses of the Los Angeles fire, what is this kind of investment?
The newly elected Los Angeles mayor, Godin, who has close ties to the Ferguson family, said, "From a strategic point of view, investing tens of billions of dollars is not excessive, and we can apply for federal government assistance."

Brian said, "I will communicate with Congress and the White House."

By the end of the meeting, a basic consensus had been reached to expedite a feasibility study on adding a layer of sun protection to the reservoirs surrounding Los Angeles.

The high-molecular-weight polyethylene material proposed by West Coast Environmental Technology Company was listed as the first choice.

According to Professor Grealish's calculations, if this plan were used, the Ivankho Reservoir alone would cost between $3.5 million and $4.5 million.

There are a total of 34 large and medium-sized reservoirs in the arid regions of Southern California.

In addition to California, nearby Mexico and Arizona, this is a multi-billion dollar environmental initiative.

After the meeting ended, Brian said goodbye to Hawke and hurriedly returned to Sacramento due to his busy work schedule.

Hawke and Caroline got into the same car.

Caroline gathered her loose blonde hair and said, "No wonder so many environmental organizations are so crazy about this movement. Environmental protection really is a big business."

Hawke smiled and said, "Environmental protection is a business, and it can be an effective way to make a lot of money and limit the competition."

Caroline suddenly thought of something: "By the way, is the drought in Los Angeles and Southern California affected by the greenhouse effect? ​​I saw in the news that North America and the European Union are developing a series of emission standards to address the carbon emissions that cause the greenhouse effect."

Hawke had also read the relevant reports and said, "I know some of it. Developed countries in Europe and America have a total population of 11 billion, who account for nearly half of carbon emissions, while the other 60 billion people share the other half."

Caroline could easily guess: "Is this a sign that Europe and America are restricting the development of other countries?"

“It’s an obvious conspiracy.” Hawke didn’t delve into the topic, since he was also a beneficiary in terms of gains and losses.

Caroline gently tapped her fair chin: "It's all business."

Hawke casually remarked, "When this plan fails to restrain the enemy and instead becomes a constraint on ourselves, America will surely claim that carbon emissions have nothing to do with the greenhouse effect or something like that."

Caroline, who had been in a high position for several years and had a broad perspective, said, "This is the typical attitude of Western countries."

The two returned to the Coast Building, where Hawke called Henderson and Caroline together for a meeting to discuss further steps to advance the project.

Twitter experienced explosive growth last year, but still only achieved a little over 10 billion US dollars in revenue.

Such environmental public welfare projects, which can reach hundreds of billions of dollars when expanded, will still have astonishingly high profit margins even if they have to share the revenue with many people.

As Hawke's business has developed to this point, the vast majority of his income comes from various "friendly sponsorships" from the California state and federal governments.

A businessman who doesn't undermine America's interests is definitely not a good businessman.

Once only the two of them were left in the conference room, Caroline said to Hawke, "Since you came to Los Angeles, the City of Angels has undergone a complete transformation."

Hawke asserted without hesitation: "Looking north from here, all the old buildings have been burned down. I have made an outstanding contribution to the city's renewal."

He laughed heartily: "Furthermore, I revitalized California and federal tax revenues, developed a series of high-tech projects, and ensured that all taxpayers' money was used effectively."

After covering the reservoir, should we also tile the Mississippi River? (End of Chapter)