then solar city had a deal with morgan stanley and they couldn't honor the deal, because they were trying not to go bankrupt, so it was super tough. >> and what's your reflective lesson learned in that process? you're over leveraged in the context of not just financially but just spread too thin in terms of passions and endeavors or i mean in hindsight, you can say it all worked out because solar city is doing better than ever tesla is doing well and space x has had its first big success. >> absolutely. things are going really well right now but it's worth making the point that they really weren't always going well, and there were some extraordinarily tough times. >> what's the take away from that? >> i learned that i have a high pain threshold. you can have a nervous breakdown, but on the sunday before christmas 2008, i was like man this is pretty close and then the next -- on the monday nasa called me and said space x won a $1.6 billion contract so i was like yes! then we had to close the tesla financing round and it closed on the 24th like a few days later. if it didn't close then, he

hi, i'm here with carl, he is the operations manager for solar city. decided to take a little break from the cls room to so we could see some of the solar panels in action. carl, how are you? >> very well. nice to meet you. >> how do you like the weather? >> not too bad. >> kind of sunny. how does that impact our solar panels when we have lots of sun versus fog which we are typically accustomed to in san francisco? >> well, contrary to popular belief, solar panels will produce electricity when it's foggy out. how much depends on the density of the fog. on a day like today it's hazy for typical san francisco weather. on a day like talking, you can expect 80% of your what would be your full production on a clear sunny day. >> so if i were thinking about getting solar panels and i lived in san francisco and i was worried about haze versus full sun and how that will impact what jets yated, are there any tools or tricks that i can use to determine what the production is going to be like? >> the first thing you need to do is look at what available area do yo

it reminds me a jeer ago jerry brown and i were in a panel with some folks from first solar and solar city. no wind people in, that unfortunately, but they were discussing brown's target of generating i think it's 20% locally distributed energy by 2020 or something, and it creates a huge shift, and -- and looking at how you achieve it, and one of the guys made the comment that if you lack across counties inside california, each of these counties has wildly different attitudes and postures towards solar installation and facilities at homes and roof tops and whatever it may be, so the permitting creates enormous barriers depending where you're at. it reminded me that the world bank publishes a study doing studies around the world and compare countries and go line by line and compare countries. an uplifting effect on some countries that are laggards, and i'm wondering why or perhaps next year they are on their way to do it, there might not be some benefit to publishing the very disparate environments between states so it becomes much more a republic deal. >> well, we -- we have this thing cal

solar city will then sell the electricity that is produced back to san jose at a lower rate. e mayor, chuck reed, of san jose says the plan could save the city thousands of dollars on its utility bills. >>> and a lawsuit against netflix will go forward. the national association of the death suit because netflix should have had to add captions to its watch instantly streaming website. netflix told a judge that's difficult because of copyright issues. it says that since people watch the site at home, disability requirements don't apply. however, the judge disagreed. >> 7:53. a wide receiver with the oakland raiders due in court on a dui charge. the chp pulled over at various hayward dave in april. he had a blood alcohol level of .13. the lawyer says the case will likely go to trial because of procedural arrows on the native traffic stop. >>> good news about california public schools. graduation rates are up and fewer students are dropping out. that announcement from state schools chief tom clarkson. he says 76 percent of students who started high school in 2007 and graduated wit

there are eco cities in other countries but they are conversions of existing structures, retrofitting solar technology, modernising public transport and so on. our city is starting from zero. >> the design envisages three districts, with plenty of greenery and a local rail service linking the eco city to the centre of tianjin forty kilometres away. but there's a lot of building to do first. the first district, more precisely a part of the first district, is starting to take shape. the developers are opting for good insulation -- a thermal imaging camera will reveal just how good later on. roof-top solar collectors will heat the water and there are rainwater utilisation systems, too. the buildings are constructed to allow for natural ventilation. but that alone doesn't create an eco city. >> insulation, solar power, and wastewater treatment plants are one aspect - the other is that we have to educate the residents, familiarise them with waste separation and explain that an environmentally sound lifestyle also means leaving their car in the garage. >> providing heat in the winter and cooling

he reminds me that a year ago jerry brown and i were in a panel with solar city. there were no when people unfortunately that we were discussing brown's target of generating i think it's 20% locally distributed energy by 2020 or something but it created a huge shift and looking at how you've -- one of the guys that works for elon musk, very similar if you work across counties inside california, each of these counties have while we different attitudes and postures towards solar installation and facilities and rooftops or whatever it may be so the permitting creates enormous barriers depending where you are at any reminded me that the world bank publishes a study doing business around the world and compares countries and they go through line by line and they compare countries and it's had an uplifting effect to some degree on countries that are laggards. i'm wondering why, or maybe perhaps it's on the way to do this. there might not be summed benefit of publishing some very disparate environments -- so becomes much more of a public deal. >> we have this thing called

solar power project nearby. the managing director takota signed a deal with the mayor. the city is just north of the plant. engineers will build several solar power stations along the coast. the construction of new houses was banned last year. the area was designated a tunisia-risk zone. city officials plan to buy 1.5 square meters of land. the plants are expected to begin operating in 2014. they will provide up to 100 megawatts of electricity, enough to meet the demands of 30,000 homes. >> translator: the project will be a big step forward for our reconstruction. and it will serve as encouragement to residents. >> sakurai says he wants to end minamisoma's dependence on nuclear power and switch entirely to renewable energy. >>> vladimir putin returned to the russian president about a month ago. and he has wasted no time targeting critics of his rule. earlier this with me squashed legislati legislation. people who organize protests could be up for fines about $30,000. the new laws also forbid demonstrators from wearing masks to conceal their identity. but instead of discouraging protesters, the president has

detectives james cole and sean solar of the new york city police department's emergency services unit are on duty when the call comes in. >> we started our shift at 3:15 that afternoon. and almost immediately as soon as we finished loading up and checking our equipment, a call came over that there was a jumper up on the top of 30 rockefeller plaza. >> the detectives race to midtown manhattan where the 23-year-old man dangles his legs precariously from the 70th floor observation deck of 30 rock. >> the first thing i see when i get up there is him furiously scribbling at the notepad. i tried to communicate with him as much as possible. >> several onlookers and the local nbc affiliate's sky cam records the action as it unfolds. >> he was on the northeast corner standing on approximately a 2 foot by 2 foot wide piece of the building. >> there was a seven-foot glass partition between us and him. what i initially did was climbed up on top of a piece of the building where i could talk down over the partition at him. seeing them helps you communicate. >> i want to position myself to the other

solar energy. such technologies are to be used throughout the city in the future, because by 2020 seoul wants to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by a quarter. >> building design plays a central role. not only is the new town hall more environmentally friendly -- many buildings are now being renovated so that they'll consume less energy. better insulation has also been installed in the building i've lived in for thirty years. i'm especially proud of the new roof garden, which i designed myself. >> a great deal of money has been spent planting vegetation on hundreds of roofs under strict conditions -- in total, an area almost as big as 30 football fields. and that has brought the metropolis a bit closer to its ambitious goal: seoul wants to be the world's greenest megacity. the authorities in seoul recently launched an image campaign to convince citizens that the city's drinking water is as good as bottled mineral water. but in many parts of the world, access to clean drinking water is a huge problem. in western kenya, for example, it's a scarce resource. there water usually has to be boiled before i

solar. san francisco's greenest building is turning the city's windy weather into its own source of electricityd building sits at golden gate avenue and polk street and is the new home of the san francisco public utilities commission. the 13 story structure uses solar power but also has several wind turbines along the front that generate 7% of the building's energy needs. the lights even dim if they are nearest any window. >> there are sensors on the side of the window that see how bright it is outside and how sunny it is outside and they raise and lower shades to make sure the lighting inside the building is appropriate for the staff. >> the building will not only harvest rainwater but it will also reuse 100% of its wastewater and that does include the water coming from the bathrooms. >>> up next, today is the longest day of the year. so what is different about this summer solstice than in other years? abc 7 news at 9:00 will be right t t t >>> it is now officially summer as you look at a live picture of san francisco. today summer soltice marks the longest day of the year. this year's solstic

cities. the goal is to use more green energy, wind, solar i-dough, and keeping prices down. >> it's a nonprund go and the fund go right back into keeping rates as low as we can. >> although the new agency will buy the power, pg&e will still trbt it. in 2010 the legislature created a new law allowing these government energy programs. marin's clean energy is the first to set up and now san francisco is developing its own, and the city of richmond may join marin. >> you're saving 50%. ally?lean energy must prove to the california public utilities that indeed at least half of its energyhalf of comesm renewable sources or is violating its certification. jason is also concerned with the cost. the agency notice said nothing >> but >> but -- what we had to do in the letter is make it understandable and not bombard people with too much information. >> information like this is going to cost consumers more. marin clean energy charges slightly less than pg&e will charge come july. the pg&e rate hikes go through as expected. however, pg&e charges an exit fee to departing customers so py residents will pay

city. and at the same time, a group of other people putting up some solar-powered street lighting. so there really is a sense here in mogadishu that things are moving, and since the ouster of al-shabab forces last year, that there is some sort of progress. >> so, huge international effort going into what's happening in somalia, because the threat from al-shabab seen as quite critical. >> yes, and it's a two-pronged effort. there's the military and the political. the military is being spearheaded by the african union. it's largely paid for by the e.u. and the u.s. but it is african soldiers here, and they say african soldiers solving african problems. we've got in the center of somalia, where we are around mogadishu, the ugandans and burindians. in the west, an ethiopian force. they're not officially part of the african union force, but there they are. this is a three-headed spear movement trying to push al-shabab out. but they recognize there are no simple military solutions to somalia. they need a political track as well. that is going on now, at a very fast rate as well. a group

cities. the goal is to use more green energy, wind, solar i-dough, and keeping prices down. >> it's a nonprofitrganization and the fund go right back into keeping rates as low as we can. >> although the new agency will buy the power, pg&e will still trbt it. in 2010 the legislature created a new law allowing these government energy programs. marin's clean energy is the first to set up and now san francisco is developing its own, and the city of richmond may join marin. >> you're saving 50%. but am i really? >> the clean energy must prove to the california public utilities that indeed at least half of its energy comes from renewable sources or is violating its certification. jason is also concerned with the cost. the agency notice said nothing about prices. >> but -- what we had to do in the letter is make it understandable and not bombard people with too much information. >> information like this is going to cost consumers more. marin clean energy charges slightly less than pg&e will charge come july. the pg&e rate hikes go through as expected. however, pg&e charges an exit fee to departing cus

it appears that the company -- at the time the solar panel company says it was laying off 1,100 employees, but the bay city reports shows that close to 1,900 employees lost their job. analysts say it makes the company's downfall even more controversial. the company failed even after getting a $535 million federal loan. >>> also new at 6:00, caltrans releasing a video showing how the bay ridge is safe. an article claims the safety of the foundation of the signature tower is in question. this weekend caltrans called for a retraction of the story. the state senate transportation chairman will hold hearings on the issue this summer. >>> berkeley voters will get to decide whether sidewalk sitting is a no-no in that city. the berkeley city council decided to put a measure on the ballot that would prevent anyone lying or sitting on the sidewalks during daytime hours. opponents filled the street outside. >>> thousands of people flocked to the olympic club today. the u.s. open is a bick deal. this is a national championship of golf. bay area fans soaking in the excitement and the players enjoying one of the most hi

the largest-ever solar project near the fukushima daiichi that it helped to build. the managing director signed a deal with the mayor. the city is just north of the plant. the deal means that toshiba will build power stations along the coast. construction of new houses is banned there, since last year's disaster, because the area is now a tsunami risk zone. the city plans to buy 1.5 million square meters of land, and lease it to a venture set up by toshiba. construction will start in march, and the plants will begin operating in 2014. they'll provide up to 100 megawatts of electricity, enough to meet the demands of 30,000 homes. that makes it japan's largest solar-powered project. they want to end the dependence on nuclear power and eventually switch entirely to renewable energy. >> translator: the project will be a big step fward for our reconstruction. and it will serve as encouragement to residents. >> 15 months after last year's earthquake and tsunami, many people have yet to locate and identify the bodies of missing family members. to help people in miyagi prefecture, local police have put their sketch artists on the job

the city in chicago donated the land and nsp land that they had but we got tax credits in our energy grants from the state and company for the solar panels. i think we had eight or nine different levels of financing that even looking at the partners and doing any affordable housing and tax credits, what we are finding now is the financial institutions tend to be the buyer and tax credits are extremely interested in doing veterans housing. that can't the case and i wouldn't say it was about veterans, but you are a housing project investor for potential investment, they would usually make that one of the lower priorities. we are seeing the philanthropy that john mentioned. our partnership with home depot is fantastic. it allowed us to fix up transitional homes and individual housing and working on the support of housing. i think there is a lot of interest both at the local levels and able to commit or home funds or things like that. the foundations and such, that's been wonderful. i want to point out and it's not without pitfalls in the local communities. we have great support and we are talking permanent support of housing and indi

solar powered streetlights. there's a real sense there's some kind of momentum toward stability. many of the responsibility to the african union forces that pushed out al-shabab from the city last year and it is continuing to press them in central and southern somalia. a spokesman for the african union forces was asked why he is succeeding where others have failed? >> i think it is because people trust us us and we have cooperation. we have demonstrated and they know they can believe this. also, people are tired of war. terrorism affects everybody. they cannot go about their business. so they need peace. this is the reason why there is peace. >> much of this operation is being paid for by the u.s., european union. what do you say to people who say this is a proxy war fought by ugandan soldiers? >> [unintelligible] you have terrorist attacks in 2010. this war affects us as much as it affects everybody in the world. we're making our contribution. we believe in it. we believe we can change this country. >> the mall problem cannot just be solved by military victories alone. >> we don't need the military solution. this is the reason it is time for the military to get properly i

tax credits that might be available for rooftop solar and -- in a conventional sense, but also things done to take advantage of the fact that, in large cities, you have miles and miles of flat roof tops that are unused. for example, the challenge that people have read about in the newspaper of long transmission lines be needed to get solar energy from open expenses of desert worth miles and miles of mirrors over to population areas. you get rid of transmission issues, problems of disturbing the local environments by trans -- working with hundreds of these groups. it allows rooftop solar to reach a ground-based. secondly, it provides the scale that is critical for solar to drive the market cost per unit down. there is a whole host of things from micro to macro that will and upbringing benefit to the homeowner. it is happening. those are just a few of the examples. we have been working closely with shaun donovan at hud in terms of these questions, mortgages, refinancing, so forth. i was just down an arkansas talking to home builders about these programs they may benefit from. it is always better to see more faster, but it is happening. we wou

off in several mainly shiite cities to islam it's insurgents linked to al qaeda frequently try to stoke sectarian tensions by attacking pilgrims. space borrowing costs of solar to the highest snow since joining the euro madrid's misery continues to pile up with ratings agency fitch also downgrading eighteen spanish banks the country's how to tap into one hundred billion euros from a financial backup fund to help shore up its banks which have been saddled with a mountain of bad property loans the bailout was supposed to bolster faith in the euro but political risk consultant john holzman told me it's going to increasingly tough for politicians now to convince investors the point is that of course the germans are going to part with their money without conditions mrs merkel has a very tough political scene or sell and if she were said to skin the spanish one hundred million euro the people in germany would think she'd lost her mind so they're going to be conditions of course the trick is going to look over spanish banks of course it's going to be conditionality the e.u. level and the spanish and what's happening is you see the politics of this getting harder an

city's windy weather into electricity. it sits in golden gate avenue and is the new home of the san francisco public utilities commission, using solar and there are several wind turbines. >> there are shades down because there are sensors that see how bright it is outside z sunny outside. they raise and lower shades to make sure lighting is appropriate for the staff. >> the building will harvest rain water and reuse is00% of the waste water including water from building bathroom autos tonight u.s. attorney general in hot water with congress tonight. why a committee is recommending a contempt charge against him. >> in sacramento the state says craig's list is being unresponsive in changing certain ads. the state issued a warning about hiring contractors from the site. >> and there is a major sting tonight businesses fight the staggering costs of metal theft. c >>> continuing to follow breaking news we've been reporting all afternoon and evening. a fire that started at 5:50 this afternoon. there southbound traffic and northbound traffic being diverted at broadway. firefighters knocked down the fire that damaged a vacant building in pi

solar power and electric cars in the next decade. >>> today san francisco supervisor will propose a november ballot initiative to require banks to pay a cityx each time they foreclose on a property. right now forever closures are exempt from paying a title transfer tax. the proposal hopes to generate new revenue and officials hope the tax will discourage banks from foreclosing on homes. >>> hundreds of jobs available at a a job fair today. the job fair will be noon to 4 p.m. on clayton road employers include the california national guard, prudential insurance, state board of equalization and sutter health. there are 700 openings. for more information go to abc7news.com/jobs. >>> world's industrializeed nations will be dusting -- discussing europe's debt problems today. >> for that let's go to jane king. dow starting off a little flat this morning. >>> yeah, and we are staying flat. talk about boring this market is doing nothing today. as you mentioned the finance ministers and central bank governor holding a conference call this morning to discuss what canada's finance minister calls the situation in europe. at the center of that situation

story $200 million project that includes wind turbines, solar panels and its own water efficiency system. >>> a new plan by san francisco's city agencies looks to remove cars from market street all together. a better market street plan aims to reestablish market street as a premiere cultural and economic center for san francisco. supporters say that a key part of this plan is to eliminate private vehicles from the streets. city agencies plan to hold a series of workshops next month so they can hear what you have to say about this. and then they will work with interested parties to create a plan by the end of the year. >>> also this morning autopsy results into the death of rodney king are not expected now for several more weeks. but we are now hearing those frantic 2009 calls. >> i have been doing stuff to try to wake him up. >> who is he? >> rodney king. the guy that got beat by the police. >> okay. how old is he? >> he is 47 years old. he is at the bottom of the swimming pool. i don't know. i was asleep. >> is he out in the pool? >> yes, i heard something fall like a table and i looked and he is at the bottom of the pool. >>

citi help u.s. athletes make a difference. together, every step of the way. >>> first in aviation, a european team has pulled off the intercontinental flight of a solar poweredlanded in more okay oh yesterday capping the trip from madrid. the aircraft is the first of its kind to fly during the night and day. it's fitted with 12,000 solar cells and wing span of a boeing 707 but only weighs as much as much as a family car. >>> then there is this. superstar in the world of base jumping. valerie spent 30 days climbing a mountain in the indian part of himalayas. it's more than four miles up at the top. they jumped, flying for 90 seconds, spent went at speeds 120 miles an hour. now the first to base jump from such a high peak. everyone is dlild to watch him do it except his insurance carrier. let's updated the forecast. >> he calls it fun. >> evidently. >> mount sutro camera, clear skies all over the bay area and tomorrow, statewide you'll see sunny skies with the exception of eureka. we'll see showers in the bay area and sunny and dry and a little milder today with high temperatures in the upper 70s in the low 80s in the east bay. low 70s around the bay. fog at t

credits that might be available for rooftop solar in a conventional sense, but some of the things that are done to take advantage of the fact that in large citiesyou have miles and miles of flat rooftop that's unused, okay? so, for example, the challenge that people have read about in the newspaper of long transmission lines being needed to get solar energy from the open expanses of desert where you can put miles and miles of mirrors over to the population loads, you get rid of the transmission issues, you get rid of a lot of the problems of disturbing local environment by aggregating potentially hundreds or even thousands of these roofs. that, in turn, does two things. number one, it allows solar to compete with rooftop solar to compete with ground-based power generation assets and, secondly, it provides the scale that is critical for solar to drive the marginal cost per unit down. so there's a whole host of things from the micro to the macro that i think are going to end up bringing benefit to the homeowner. >> [inaudible] >> well, it is happening. and those are just some of the few examples. we have been working very closely with shaun donov

reporter: and it's been a self-contained wind and solar-powered aqua marine circle of paradise a quarter mile from the mainland yet a world away from city a lot of peace and quietness. if we want it. no crime, no noisy neighbors. the only noise here is the ocean if you want to call that noise. >> reporter: but after 20 years of amazing snorkeling and sunsets, they're selling. asking price, $12 million. in fact, private islands like these are a rebounding real estate niche. private islands inc. lists about 500 of them, various sizes and amenities and for as little as 200 grand. buyer beware, an island is not always an oasis of lethargy. you've got to have a helicopter or boat just to get there. >> it runs 360 degrees -- >> reporter: and bob warns potential buyers, hurricanes are potential threats. >> there's only one occupational hazard here. we like to drink beer down here. >> reporter: now, from the mainland, the island is quite visible, it's only about a quarter of a mile, and the depth of the water down here in the keys around 4-6 feet, so you could tentatively walk across. this being the first day of hurricane season, yes, this hous

city where prices went down. experts say the numbers released today are more evident that the housing market is slowly increasing. >>> san francisco clean tech companies are posting steep cuts to the go solartive program. that program has supported nearly 2,000 residential and commercial solar installations since it was first launched in 2008. historically it's funded at $500 million for years. but now that program is slated to be slashed down to 2 million and supporters estimate that $2 million will be used up in just a matter of months. >>> crush pad the sonoma based winery that popularized the idea that anyone can make wine may be facing insolvancy. the company has posted a message to clients on twitter says our doors are open for business as usual. crush pad was founded in san francisco back in 2004. >>> well there is pizza, there are computers and a lot of students, we'll show you a first of its kind program aimed at giving local students a leg up. >>> and back here in just 10 minutes it's going to warm up a little bit tomorrow. we'll let you know how much warmer in your neighborhood, see you back here. >>> bay area girls ripped from a life of prostitution during a massive sweep. now

adding with solar energy and also of he and a wind generator similar to the will we see them there. every time i go home to look at that. [laughter] we call this our community food cityple can come in purchasing it. many different things. one of the only multi-cultural, multigenerational organizations in the country led by. or very proud about being a multicultural organization. is there some of the faces. over 15,000 a train of 15,000 the year . with the sense. [laughter] again. it's all about the trail. we really have to grow so. as i travel around the country and cities and mayors and they're ready a talk to, the need a large composting operation because the soil is contaminated and there's of barbarians we used seeds, microorganisms have been killed off. the struggling to make honey. we really need to resurrect our struggle -- so. the only way to do that is to take the waste and put it back to mother earth. so we do it over a million pounds annually of compost. and we have animals. only about 200 feet away from our resident. we have to in gauging there we also have our 500 letters that led brown makes. and of course, apple tonics' come crawling fish. 100 tons of

solar industry. jon? jon: going to cost a lot more to get those houses built that way. claudia cowan, thank you. >> reporter: sure will. jenna: from one cityher. one city's beloved mascot at the center of a very serious lawsuit. what one woman claims the philly phanatic did, and why she is suing next. ♪ [ male announcer ] you're at the age where you don't get thrown by curveballs. ♪ this is the age of knowing how to get things done. so, why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra. talk to your doctor. ...more talk on social security... ...but washington isn't talking to the american people

two major cities vote to reform out-of-control pensions but now the union is suing to overturn that. can they do that? great news, the largest solar in the world is in the works right now. the bad news, it will apparently vaporize birds. we're going to find out the truth here. we'll debate all of this. stick around. ♪ i'd like to thank eating right, whole grain, multigrain cheerios! mom, are those my jeans? [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multigrain cheerios if someone took mid-sized sedans and broke the mold? if we took our best-selling altima back to its essence, kept its dna, then reimagined nearly everything in it? ♪ gave it greater horsepower... ♪ ...and a lighter and stronger body... ♪ ...advanced headlight technologies for greater visibility... ♪ ...and zero gravity seats that reduce fatigue? ♪ yeah, that would be cool. introducing the completely reimagined nissan altima... ♪ ...with best in class 38 mpg highway and better acceleration than camry and accord. it's our most innovative altima ever. nissan. innovation that excites. ♪ our cloud is made of bedrock.