captioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this edition for sunday, november 11:d woaders gather in paris to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of world war i. the "camouflage wave" of veterans elected into office. and in our signature segment, solar power in the suburbs: a leflorida town aims for co sustainability. next on pbs newshour weekend. >> pbs wpossible by:d is made bernard and irene schwartz. sue and edgar wachenheim iii. seton melvin. the cheryl and philip milstein family. dr. p. roy vagelos a diana t. e agelos. p.b. foundation. rosalind p. walter. barbara hope zuckerberg.

corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- designing stomized individual and group retirement products. that's why we're your retirement company. additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for thank you.om v like you.sy from the tisch wnet studios at lincoln center in new york, hari sreenivasan. a sreenivasan: good eveni thank you for joining us. rno deadly wildfires continue to burn in cali where thousands of firefighters are working to save homes and lives. in northlifornia, the death toll from the so-called amp fire has climbed to 2 officials continue to search for more than 100 people who remain unaccounted for. the fire in the foothills of the orsierra nevada mountains, of sacramento, has burned 109,00acres and is 25% contained.

more than 6,700 structures have been destroyed, mostly residential homes, making it the most destructive in california history. about 500 miles to the south, the woolsey fire continues to threaten areas around los angeles. about 250,000 people have been bvacuated and the fire iseing blamed for at least two deaths there.ff fireials say the blaze is 10% contained. the santa ana winds picked up today, creating tougher conditions for firefighters. thwinds are expected to remain through tuesday. for more i'm joined via skype by julia sulek from the the bay area news group. she's in paradise, a town of 27,000 people that's been decimated by the so-called camp fire. julia, describe what g u are standi? what is left of this town? >> wow, it's so grim, i have t tell you, just driving through how much carnage, it's amazing. i'standing in t wreckage of what appears to be a churchth.

e's just nothing left. what is so a stownling about paradise-- astounding about paradise, there still are some businesses, on the main drag, there are a few but it is all of residences, 90% of the homes in this place are gone. >> you chronicled some of the stories of people that wete trying to out. what is the scene that they describe? >> well, what really wat me s these abandoned cars. and it is just so apocalyptic, it is like a scene from the walking dead or sometng and you just wonder, i couldn't help sagine what it must have been like to ting in one of these cars and no way out.un anrtunately the scare crest thing of all is some people actually per shalled in their vehicles. but the onesreho got out just amazing. this one couple, they were in mpbumper to , they said we would rather die fleeing together than in separate cars. you know, they went to the edge of a cliff and they slid down on their rear ends and deer and

turkeys were coming don with them and they crossed a creek and finally another five miles to safety. i mean the stories are just epic and stories of heroism, i spoke with a school bus driver who was stranded with a 7 year old autistic boy for hours, ultimately they got out safely too, but it's just terrifying for people out here. >> is this area now safe? are people aowed to go back in yet? >> no, there are so many downed power lines. a lot of pg & e cws are here. we're driving, of course, we're able to go in with press passes. 's just very hazardous. >> what is the plan there for this town? i mean the evacuees or everybody from that town and the surrounding towns are now elsewhere. >> i spoke with the mayor of paradise last night and i said what is it like to be the mayor of a town where nothing is left. and she said you know, hey, the

ace hardware is still there. and we have one grocery store. two are gone bne is there. so of course she's looking on the bright side. i was at a meeting last nht when one of the community members said should i go back. should i return? and she said it's really up to you.ia >> julek via skype from paradise, california, thank you so much for joiningus. >> you're welcome. >> sreenivasan: world leaders commemorated the 100th f anniversary of the end orld war i in france today. headof state including the german chancellor and canadian prime minister traveled to the .vent at the arc de triomphe in paris togeth president trump and russian president putin each traveled separately, citing security concerns. french president emmanuel macron warned against the rising wave of nationalism around the world saying, "oldemons are reawakening." later at the suresnes americance tery just outside of paris, president trump spoke at a ceremony honoring the more than 1,000 u.s. soldiers buried there before returning to washington. around the u.s., ceremonies and parades honored military service

members from all generations on veterans day. in new york, more than 20,000 took part in the country's largesde. this year's grand marshall was retired army captain florent erg, a medal of honor recipient who was wounded in afghanistan. and at arlington national cemetery, seetary of veterans affairs robert wilkie spoke at a wreath laying ceremony at the tomb of the unknown sdier. read about the anniversary of" the gross clinic" painting, now emerging as a masterpiece, on our website at pbs.org/newshour. sreenivasan: more than 200 military veterans ran for seats in the house and senate in this year's midterm election, among them were a number of first time candidates and women. the record number of veterans who ran is notable because representation of military veterans in congress has fallen significantly in the last three decades. claudia grisales covers congress for "stars and stripes" and joinse now from washington, d.c. what was the difference this time around? >> welin i the enthusiasm

behind these veterans was really noticeable and energetic and it onught voters attenti we're seeing a new generation of veterans from the current wars, from iraq a afghanistan running from office. and their messages resonated with voters. >> sreenvasan: was it lopsidedly republican or democrat, how did it break down? >> it leaned republican. usually it's heavily repub but what we saw different this campaign season, we saw more democrats running with this military experience and in a few casesethey causome districts to flip. and they drew some new interests enivasan: is there something that they are able to commun aate to voteut bipartisanship that seems more genuine? >> i think voters do see a message of by part sanship. i think they-- bipartisanship, i think they look at a former hill leaders like the late senatord swron mccain aey see that

bipartisanship is something cat th bring to the hill, something they believe that can break down that kind of political toksicity that we're seeing these ds. >> cuz it didn't really matter in the army, only the rank matters, not necessarily what you might have voted apothe s. >> exactly it is about service to country and that translates to politics for a lot of these : w members coming to the hill. >> sreenivasere was also a superpac involved just biressing the by part shin,-rtisanship, tell us about that. >> a new browp was elevated this past year. they just launched in late 2017 and they drew a lot of attention. it is arosspartisan grouf you will meaning they endorsed candidates who were rung for the democratic party, the republican party or even a isependents or liberals. and they have drawn a good amount of. attenti for example the founder of-- jeff bezos made the most significant politicalonation

to today $10 million, to with honor o so they are dwing a lot of interest. >> sreenivasan: it has relative success in getting the candidates that it endorsed in. >> they pulled out a slate of nearly 40 candidates that they endorsed and sawt least 17 of those win the races. so considering the odds they did pretty good. >> sreenivasan: what are the issues that the veterans are lakely tn go tacklea bipartisan basis especially ones related to veterans? >> well, one concern hee increasing demands being put ion the mtary from presence in yemen and the ongoing wars in iraq and afghanistan tos decisi who can and can't enlist. and even questions authether there should be a military parade or the amount of trips being deployed to the border. i could see a lot of veterans getting involved in issues like this and perhaps looking at potentially more oversight of these demands.

>> claudia for stars and .tripes, thanks so muc >> thank you. >> swhreenivasan we think of the source of carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to climate change, transportation and industry are likely th first things that come to mind. in reality, 40% of those roissions in the u.s. stem the energy used to heat, cool, light, and power our buildings. but a new residential ent in florida is trying to show there's a different way. this story is part of our ongoing sees "peril and promise-- the challenge of climate change." it took the local utility 4mpany more than a year to build this acre solar array in southwest florida. >> it's one of the largest if not the largest in the state. but more importantlywers, it powers the town of babcock ranch. >> sreenivasan: syd kitson once played football for the green

bay packers and dallas cowboys. hew a developer, kitson is mastermind behind babcock ranch, an 18,000 acre plaed community. at its peak, kitson says the development will he close to 20,000 homes, all powered by the sun. >> the idea for us from the beginning was to create the most environmentally responsible, the most sustainable new town that had ever been developed. >> sreenivasan: in 2006, kitson's real estate company bought 91,000 acres of land, then sold 80% of it to the state of florida to be preserved forever. the companis using the remaining property, mostly former farm and rock mining land to create babcock ranch. that includes more than 8,000 thres for green space. first residents moved in in january. the hope is that by 2040, babcock ranch will be home to 50,000 people. and demonstrate that going green is good business. >> it just seemed like a great opportunity to prove that you can do it the right that you can preserve land, that

preservationnd development can work hand in hand. >> sreenivasan: but goes beyond solar power and preservation. the goal is r babcock ranch to be a model of sustainability. the development requires all the homes and commercial buildings to be certified green by the florida green building coalition. >> builders were like, "really? you want me to do what? that." going to blow my budge" >> sreenivasan: jennifer languell is a sustainable design ultant hired by kitson's firm. she works with the builders at babcock ranch, steering them towards environmentally friendly building thniques and materials. >> so why i wanted to get y guys out here to this house in particular, was because it's kind of this house in his underpants stage and so we can kind of see what's behind those walls. >> sreenivasan: she points to insulation in the roof, foam in the concrete walls, and even the thickness of windows. all of theomponents are specifically selected to optimize energy efficiency. >> we're looking at about a 27%

energy red over florida energy code and that's about a 40 to 42% energy reduction over the national average. >> i wanted the smomlest possible >> sreenivasan: richard and nley were the very first residents of babcock ranch. the semi-retired couple movedfr here in januar the atlanta area to escape the congestion of the city and lead a more eco- friendly life. >> i grew up on the easidcoast of fland i saw homes just kind of thrown up and not thought through all that well. >> it's more of an intention to live in this kind of community. pretty much everyone that'sm oved in seems to be a similar mind as far as sustainability. >> sreenivasan: the kinleys own two cars, one of which is electric. every garage is pre-wired with enough power to easily charge it. but living in a town designed to be walkable-- babcock ranch has miles of trails-- the kinleys say they often go several days without driving at all.

>> i love the idea of getting away from cars. i mean i think cars are just literally choking america to death. >> sreenivasan: the town is testing one of the state's first driverless shuttle systems, powered by electricity generated from the solar panels. the goal is to give every resident access to the vehicles via a ride hailing app. and syd kitson says that may be feasible by next year. >> we're hoping within ten years people will have need for only one car and then shortly thereafter they won't need a car at all. >> sreenivasan: in the meantime residents keep coming, about 200 so far. jasmin and joshua day weren't looking f a community like this. but just a week after discovering the town, they put a deposit on a home. >> he had a conversation with a co-workerho was joking with him because we kind of are more, hippy, i guess maybe in some of the things that we do. and they were joking and they were like, "oh we ard about this town it's like this sustainable city there's solar panels, you guys would love it."

and i looked it up and i was like i really actually do love this town. >> sreenivasan: joshua, a physical therapist, got a job at the local health center in the town's commercial hub before they moved in. it's where the first buildings went up. s also a restaurant and coffee shop, a small grocery store, and a brand new school and this is all strategic. it's early in the project, but ki ttson's goal build a self-contained town: provide robust local businesses with job opportunities so residents will be less likely to jump in a car and leave. in fact, joshua's new commute is just a five minute bike ride. >> for us, being part of like a community of people who are also g this, it's not just ou choices. it's you know builders, it's landscapers, it's people who are buying from the farmers market instead of you know x, y and z. likely, for us it's realn endless stream of choices. >> sreenivasan: the solar panels and green buildings may be the visible sustainability features at babcock ranch. but according to engineer amy wicks, it's water conservation that shaped the design of the community. >> it's really a unique system here and it's really not b

something thatn done in residential developments thus far. >> sreenivas: driving along e town's roads you might not notice these flat ribbon curbs. they allow war to flow to what are called rain gardens, they're designed to replicate what wetlands do: hold and filter water before it flows downstream. >> inste of just engineering a system to work, we're engineering the system to mimic natwhure, because reall we've learned over time is nature had it right all along. >> sreenivasan: wicks has worked on water engineering at babcock ranch for more than a decade. she says this land once had se isonal lakes befowas drained to make way for agriculture. >> this here is the weir that we've designed that's going to hold back that water to mimic that natural system that was here beforethat natural lake system. >> sreenivasan: north of town a ditch that just a year ago looked like this has been transformed. te>> this now holds almost the entire year. back to what the natural conditions were. >> sreenivasan: and what bcock ranch is doing here has an effect on nearby waterways. toxic algae blooms have increased in florida.

they turn waterways green, smell, and can affect both human and marine animal health. the blooms can naturally occur, but worsen with runoff from agriculture and development, including fertilizer and waste. >> we've really realized that acdevelopment has really id the water quality in the state of florida. somreething like this ily important just to try to reduce the overall runoff that's going out lyto our gulf ultimateout to ourceans. hing's always downstream from you and you've got to take that into account. >> sreen an ecologist at florida gulf coast university. early in the development of babck ranch he was called in to help survey the wildlife population. and he's followed the project's development. >> what we know will happen in the future on this landscape is more people will want to come here. and what we're really lacking is better models for how to pu them on the land. babcock ranch could be a better fdel. >> sreenivasan: b all of the town's sustainability features, there are gaps. for example, most of the homes will be single family.

>it> i thin fair to criticize some of the ways we develop and part of the ways that babcock's been developed that the most efficient way of putting people on the land would be in tall apartment buildings where the people are concentrated and you maximize the green space. >> sreenivasan: and while green space has been set aside at babcock, and the amount ograss each home can have is limited, some have argued the developers could have gone further. for instance they could ban lawns altogether. >> we've been asked, you know, why don't you just you know say you can't have grass at all and you know the pacticality of it is difficult. remember, we do have to sell homes >> sreenivasan: kitson says homes are priced for different budgets. theyt start aound $200,000, slightly higher than the median for this part of florida and can go as high as $1 million. kitson says affordability and sustainability are not necessarily in conflict. >> we need to prove that building a sustainable and environmentally responsible new town makes sense from an economic perspective. not just from the people who are

developing it like us but for the homeowners who are going to buy homes and make their investments within the itmmun >> sreenivasan: but kitson acknowledges making babcoc a ranch as grepossible is still a work in progress. >> are we 100% sustainab right now? no. but can we get there? absolutely. >> sreenivasan: there's been a lot of discussion about the rising number of women elected into office at both the national and local levels. two years ago we profiled doctor suzanne harrison of utah, who at the time was a first time candidate running for a seat in utah's house of representatives. she fell short that election, losing her bid for house district 32 by just three votes. this past tuday, the anesthesiologist joined the growing number of women elected into , offifeating her opponent by nearly 2,000 votes. suzanne harrison joins me now from utah.

>> how did this wave that we're seeing, whether it's a blue wave, whether it's the women's wave, whther it's the veran's wave, how did that all converge in a race like yours in utah? >> you know, i was honored to be one of many, you know, record-breaking numbers of women running for office bo locally and nationally. and i do feel that my experience as a mom and as a medical doctor, and a parent of children in our local publihoc ls would be an asset as i serve in the leblg slate ture. but ultimate-- n'timately i think people voted for me because of my gender. i think they voted for me because i did the work going door to door and listening to voters rather than lecturing them and finding common grou d focusing on the issues that we share as a community and to theng those issue forefront of the utah legislature. >> finding common ground is something pretty hard to do especially in the washington front in youregislated ture, perhaps it's a little different but how do you find those connections between people of different ideologies and

backgrounds? >> i think first and fore most it starts with listening. we knocked on over 30,000 doors in a district that only hases 10,000 hnd we spent time on the door step listening tosa voters, ths of voters with face to face contact and i think if we all did more listening rather than e lecturih other and name calling we would come to more common sense soluthiions incountry and here locally as well. >> was tre a greater amount of participation and energy in the aces where you were at? olutely. there were several ballot initiatives that was a new issue for you taught-- utah and greater voter participation because of those ballots initiatives that the voters could comment on in my local race peoe were much more engaged because they have see how much thir vote could really matter. we lost by three votes last time out of 18,000 votes in a race against a long time incumbent and people who thought their vote didn't count or woudn matter really got engaged this time. and i was so happy to haveea

people on my that had never been involved in local politics. >> sreenivasan: there were a t lot of expertt talk about how politics is not just local but it's also become very national. and that the national themes eni up fil down. when you knocked on doors did people start to ask you on your affiliation, your party affiliatioand where you stood on national issues? >> that came up. but i find that sometimes tti al issues create more of a wedge between us than really needs b i think if we take the time to listen and talk to people of different ideologies and different life backgrounds, we all share so much more in common than what divides us. and in my communy people want a great teacher in every classroom. people want to be able to go outside and breathe safe air ann theyto be able to have great jobs for their kids and future gdkids. and these are not partisanea issues or att they shouldn't be. we need people to come together and find common sense solutions. >> suz ann harrison, thanks so nuch.

>> thanks for ha mee, hari. >> this is pbs newshour weekend, sunday. >> sreenivasan: for several years, "storycorps" has been recording and sharing real experiences from people who have extraordinary stories to tell, cecluding their military v initiative. on this veterans day awe take a loan animated short featuring army national guard specialist justin cliburn, who recounts the unlely friendship he formed with two boys he met while deployed in iraq. >> one day we saw this child walkinghrough the compound. his name was ali. and hewadid not to talk us to. and the secretary or third time that i met him he brut his best friend ak med and ahmed was much anmore outgoing. so ali really opened up. we would play rock, paper, scissors. we would kick around a soccer ball. we were about as close as people that don't speak the same language can be.

one day ali showed up and i can tell something wasn't right. he kept sayg ahmed, ahmed, boom. we leaed that ahmed and his mother went to the gas station and a suicide bomber detonated ahmed's mother is de he is in a hospital somewhere. later i saw ali walking up very ow and he sat down on the curb nexto my humvee. he dug a hole in the ground with his fingers. he picked up a rock and put it in the hole and then he put t dirt back over it and he just pointed to the ground and said ahmed. and i knew that ahmed was dead. i don't know what became of himn but whver i see any footage from baghdad, i am always kind of lacking around wondering if he is in the

frame. >> sreenivasan: finally tonight, s while we honored veterantoday, the date 11/11 marks a different event in china. it's called singles day and it's turned into the biggest online shopping day in the worl- big as in more than $24 billion in sales in less than 24 hours big. university students started singles day in the 1990's as a spoof of romantic holidays. retailers took it ups a sales tool ten years ago. for some perspective on this, last year, u.s. cyber monday lisales added up to $6.6 b. singles day shoppers spent $14 billion in just the first two hours of the event today. that's all for this edition of pbs newshour weekend. i'm hari sreenivasan. have a good night. captioning sponsored by wnet captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

>> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: bernard and irene schwartz. i sue and edgar wachenhe. seton melvin. the cheryl and philip milstein family. dr. p. roy velos and diana t. vagelos. the j.p.b. foundation. rosalind p. walterar bahope zuckerberg. corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retirement product w that's wre your retirement company. additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers lk e you. thu.

♪ -in the late 1800s, gold was discovered in the wilds of canada's yuk territory. but to get there, prospectors had to make it in the wilds of cathrough this first... it's hard to even picture that, that amount of people in this wild of a place.te ...a 33-mile rhrough dense alaskan rain forests and a climb over the infamous chilkoot pass. we're in one of the mapped r alanche danger zones ring. an estimated 100,000 braved this trail to strike it rich,m but thisountain took its toll. guys were starving back home, and just had the promise of not only getting by, but potentially being rich. an adventure of living history is about to begin on the historic chilkoot trail. him gonna keep documenting though it's just treacherous travel right now.