>> kristen: welcome to assignment 7. today on our program. how a bay area biofuel company accidental discovery. plus a scientist thinks he knows why a large number of bee says dying and a co-worker that led people to safety during 9/11. >> stopping crime and protecting privacy. billion license plates are in a company's database and yours might be one of them. the license scanning technology is a recent investigation.

nannette miranda reports from sacramento. >> reporter: more and more law enforcement agencies and even private security firms are mounting high-tech cameras atop their vehicles scanning license plates for stolen cars. near the state capital stolen car means someone is up to know no good. >> when they arrested him they patted him down and he had several pairs of shoes that he shoplifted inside the mall. >> they had similar success out the streets but a california watch raises questions in how well the information is being used. it found a livermore based company called vigilant video has compiled a database containing half a billion license plate scans from across the country. >> the california public

research group works on privacy issues and says the the baby raises red flags because it shows where people have been and een when. >> when individual's information is stored or compiled in some places, folks should be concerned. >> reporter: the investigation raises questions about police access to the database. they are not supposed to use information from license scanning to solve other crimes but if it's someone else's it's a perfect loophole. they declined a request for the interview but the firm's president said we shouldn't hinder ors from doing our job. chp hopes the privacy issue doesn't take a valuable and effective tool. >> there billions of dollars on a yearly basis as number of vehicles stolen and the cost and safety and insurance so that affects all of us. >> chp and the company share

skachbs only with law enforcement. they had information where the customers once a toll was paid. in sacramento, nannette miranda, "abc 7 news." monarch butterflies undertook flog to the coastline each winter. they came in record numbers this years. jonathan bloom explains the big surge and why they are great mystery. >> at first glance they looks like clumps of leaves hanging high in the grove. but look closely and you may see the biggest collection of monarch butterflies they have seen. >> 4188 butterflies. >> that is ten times the year before? >> more than we've had in the past ten years. >> it's possible last year's rainfall caused a spike in the growth of milk weed plant where they lay eggs.

this will hatch in a caterpillar that will eat nonstop for 15 days. >> you have whole put butterfly in that tiny space. >> most only live in few weeks but one generation will live for six months my grating across the country. they have come as far east as the rocky mountains and as far north as british columbia. >> they need trees that shielded from the wind. they don't go looking for it. they seem to know where it is. >> they have never been here before. they've never seen any butterflies coming here but they find their way. >> they come from all over the it tells a story far bigger. >> monarch butterfly is an indicator of a healthy environment. it shows that things are going well. >> reporter: in february they

will head back out across the country to lay their eggs and let the cycle begin again. >> they will not return here bul return here to. a bay area based company is focused on biofuel research but a potential cosmetic breakthrough. david louie has the story from south san francisco. >> sometimes the best discoveries coming out of the research is the ones you don't expect. >> we didn't ever intend to do that but researching it for energy purposes, we found an incredible compound. >> that compound is hamuronic acid. it acts to protect and shield from hostile environment. it firms up and enhances aging

skin. >> this is a complex putting together three very powerful proteins and peptides that really go to work to address skin proteins as we age that lead to a loss of firmness in the skin. >> the new line of skin care products has made an unexpected revenue stream. they are prominently displayed in shops from prices ranging from $56 to $94. >> they are disclose go what it contributes but make up billion dollar industry. it will be sold in 11 countries besides the u.s. >> we can make oils and other products that comes out of process, we can commercialize those. >> they see themselves as a technology company but it is demonstrate that go the research can result in surprising new

uses for algae. >> they continue to expand their product lines, skin care and couple months, they'll have something to do with algane food. >> kristen: coming up next. michael finney, a bay area teenager who has been collecting social security benefits. now, the government wants some of its money back. >> and the energy project underway in marin county that will demonstrate how well the

the word is swapportunity. can i have the definition? swapportunity: the opportunity to swap a higher calorie snack for a yoplait light. can you use it in a sentence? mmm. swapping a 300 calorie donut for this 110 calorie strawberry shortcake is a good swapportunity. that's not a real word. oh haha it's real. [ female announcer ] delicious, creamy, yoplait light. over 30 flavors each around 100 calories. do the swap today.

>> reporter: a bay area woman was a young child when social security started paying her benefits. her mother suffered a debilitating injure. now she is being asked to repay the money. michael finney has been looking into the story. >> i love her. she is my mom. >> she remembers her mom fondly. she was just 12 years old when

her mother died of heart failure. >> we would play and make funny games. >> she received this letter in the mail billing her $1282 for overpayment made to her by social security between 1995 and 2000. >> at first i thought it was a joke or something. i couldn't understand how it takes this long, over 11 years. >> these things happen. we told you about these things, in california social services. an attorney in that case says the kids overpaid by the federal government slightly better position. you see, social security has an appeals process. >> i continues to really know how to handle that.

i don't know who i would talk to or who i would call or what i would say when i called. >> reporter: how would any 19-year-old know? luckily she knew about me and she made contact. that is when we went to work on her behalf. it turns out she could qualify for a waiver but to get that she needs to show a hardship. the 19-year-old is delaying college because she can't afford tuition. just to make ends meet she is selling miniature toys. she can't pay $1300. >> this is full month's rent. we really couldn't afford to do it. >> on her behalf we made the case for the waiver and social security really helped. guiding her three the appeals process and eventually granting her the waiver. she does not have to pay.

>> kristen: a prominent bay area r lab is using e friendly science to help it grow and results could be a model for the future. >> reporter: the beck institute in novato has a reputation for breaking knew ground in science but these days they are breaking ground outside, as well. crews are dwilg into the earth which will be a massive heating and cooling system. >> the big idea behind the geo exchange field is to use the constant temperature of the earth to cool buildings. >> or to heat them. >> that is why it can be a source of heating and cooling its predictable temperature. what you do with that water can have predictable outcome. >> after digging 300 holes, they

lay in tubing that will carry it through a maze. it can cool hot water down or raise the temperature of colder water using the earth's warmth. all the water comes back in the building. >> you only have to take that 61 degree water to get to the comfort zone to 68 to 72. >> which means they have far less work to do and require less energy. they and units and made heat exchangerers. >> so heating out of here and cooling out of here. >> even with a $400 million price tag. they expect the system to pay for itself. >> it will. over a period of 7 years is what it has shown. you'll zee a reduction begins year one, upwards of $400,000 a

year. >> and it may not be the last investment they make. when the system is up and running they will examine their systems including solar to generate electricity on site. >> geo therm sal the first step. we would be independent in solar ultimately. >> turning them leader into environmental science, as well. >> kristen: engineers say the project is saving thousands of gallons of water because it eliminates the evaporation that was part of the old heating and cooling system. still ahead the buzz over a bee mystery. a local scientist thinks he knows why bees are dying. and new way to shop without cash and i don't need a smart phone to do it.

male announcer ] for some reason those five food groups sound a whole lot better when you put them in a taco shell instead of a pyramid. old el paso. when you gotta have mexican.

fantastic! pro-gresso ] they fit! okay-y... okay??? i've been eating progresso and now my favorite old jeans...fit. okay is there a woman i can talk to? [ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less. can you enjoy vegetables with sauce and still reach your weight loss goals? you can with green giant frozen vegetables. over twenty delicious varieties have sixty calories or less per serving and are now weight watchers-endorsed. try green giant frozen vegetables with sauce. the progresso chicken noodle you made is so good. it's got tender white meathicken. the way i always made it for you. one more thing.... those pj's you like, i bought you five new pairs. love you. did you see the hockey game last night? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

>> kristen: welcome back. some of the most significant discoveries have been made by accident. penicillin, for example. wayne freedman explains why honeybees are leaving their hives. >> if this is any indication, never station the observational powers of a scientist on a routed he walks everyday. >> that morning two years ago when he first noticed aide the outside the hall on the campus. >> i see the bees and bees that are walking around in circles. they don't know what is going on. >> they came from a hive down below and on the cold weather they should have remained inside but there were dozens of dead

wes and the dying wandered around. >> kind of zombie like. he scooped a few bees and carried them upstairs, brought them to his office, filed them on his desk. >> what about science. >> he left them there for about a week didn't pay any attention to them at all. then he looked again. there weren't just bees in there anymore. >> there are little brown things in. >> it he made an accidental discovery. >> there was a fly coming out of the honeybees. >> is that unusual? >> unknown. >> until 2006 nobody heard of colony collapse disorder, affecting honeybees worldwide. >> they come back and all the bees would be gone. >> could there will be a link?

he and his students went to work collect dna and they identified one species of forest flies and after examining the dead bees another surprise. >> we discovered there was nothing left inside the bee. >> it begins when a fertile fly and uses appendix to penetrate the body and lay eggs which hatch inside as maggots. lots of them according to the research team. >> the record is 25 maggots out of a single bee. >> eventually they pop out between the head and thorax. you are watching nature and all of its glory. >> now the big question, could this be the source of colony collapse disorder. it does create the symptoms. >> it's possibility, could be part of the answer. >> you are being modest. >> being careful. >> and all that from a professor

being observant oh a routine morning walk. >> kristen: many of us are ready to pay for things with the phone. now a bay area start-up has people texting money to each other. richard hart has a better way to transfer cash. >> let's say you got some money under a would like to send some far away, maybe in another country. you could go to a wire transfer services but that would cost $20 or more each time. you would send a check but you don't have a bank account. however, you do have a phone. what could f you could text montgomery from phone to phone? that is the idea behind a service. >> maria uses it to put cash into her phone. >> you go to 7-eleven and give them money and give them a receipt and it automatically puts money in your account.

>> they pay $2 per transfer. it includes a car and you can make purchase west side it. it's not the same as mobile payments. you don't need a smart phone. this is mobile money transfer. bill will say his company in palo alto is not just about a cashless world. bits changing the world. starting with those he kaurltd called the ones that don't bank. >> if you think about all the check cashing but this is tide that raises all ships. if you give people real access to commerce, make them part of the banking system, give them simple tools, a phone they are already carrying, good things will happen. >> what about bad things like money laundering. he points out his sbis regulated by the same agencies that regulate banks from homeland security identification to fdic insurance.

>> text messages are in spanish and english. >> beginning with tens of thousands of retailers and atms he is becoming a social network for those that wanted to share currency. >> kristen: up next, terrorism. >> why isn't it handicap because of misconceptions that people have about blindness. >> a blind man who led his co-workers to safety during the 9/11 tragedy and vision she sharing with the res us. cheeseburger macaroni? [ female announcer ] cheeserburger macaroni hamburger helper.

now even cheesier and tastier. helpers. forty dishes, all delicious. gives us the most nutritious of gifts. but only when they are ready to be given. that's why green giant picks vegetables at their peak. ...and freezes them fast, locking in nutrients ...for you to unwrap. ♪ ho, h ho. green giant

michael henson is a hero. best selling author and blind. michael and his guide dog survived the world trade center attack on 9/11 but that is the start of the story. dan ashley introduces to us a blind man who teaches us what vision really means.

>> michael and his guide guide dog doesn't have a problem with escalators. he can get along fine just about anywhere. he is speaking to california association. he telling government leaders how he convinced a computer company to hire him as a salesman. >> as a blind person i have sell all my life to be able to function. i have had to sell to ride a school bus. to be allowed to go on an airplane. >> he eventually became regional salesperson for the company. >> i had a staff. >> ten years ago he was working on the 78th floor of the world trade center when a terrorist flew a plane into the world trade center. >> we said goodbye to each other. >> the guide dog was there, too. around the office people begin to panic. >> i knew something that nobody else was observing which is my

dog wasn't acting afraid or indicating that she was nervous in any way. >> that was enough to help michael calm other workers. in the last ten years, he told the story of the trip down the stairs hundreds of times. one of the worst moments is when they got outside. >> we heard this rumble that was the roar. >> tower two collapsed. now no one could see and hardly breathe. they moved forward to move into a building that was just to their. >> right i kept telling them, right, right. gave them hand signal and kept saying right. i was listening for the opening to go in to. suddenly i heard it. the dog took one step to the right and stopped. >> they were at the top of the subway station. then she helped them guide them to safety. >> it's teamwork. >> michael lives in novato but

travels the world. then he talks about the importance of teamwork. sadly rosselle died at the age of 13. now a new dog is helping advocate for the blind. >> we're living in a country where employable blind people unemployment is at 70%. >> he was celebrated as heroes but it's not unusual with a little help with a good dog and good technology. >> this device here is called a note taker. >> most people can accomplish a lot, you just give them a chance. >> a handicap consists of misconceptions that people have about blindness. >> kristen: michael has started a foundation in roselle's name to raise money for technology for the blind. for a link to the foundation and where to find his bock, go to our website at abc7news.com.

find more information just look under the news links on the left side for assignment 7. that is all for this edition of assignment 7. i'm kristen sze. we'll see you back here next >> a suspicious near san francisco leaves dozens of people homeless. >> family's rv catches fire. >> more sad news out of indiana where a toddler, who had survived a tornado, passed away. >> abc-7 new [ male announcer this march, dive into the subway® jalapeno tuna, featured $5 footlong™ of the month. explore a new world of flavor when our taste-rriffic tuna meets spicy jalapenos to leave your taste buds tingling! this march only, it joins our many $5 footlongs™! subway. eat fresh.