October 31st, 2008
By John DeFore
Green Right Now
Dancing the night away is great exercise, but for some lucky clubbers in Rotterdam, it’s also a way (albeit a small way) to contribute to the world’s supply of renewable electricity.
A recent article in the New York Times highlights a disco in that Dutch city whose 270 square-foot dance floor harvests energy from dancers’ movement and uses it to help run the light show.
Named Watt, the club is the first fruit of a larger project to make night clubs sustainable. In addition to the dance floor — which is attention-getting, even if the technology isn’t mature enough yet to produce a lot of juice — the club has waterless urinals and rainwater-fed toilets; it harvests the considerable heat the amplifiers produce for reuse where it’s needed.
As the article notes, the sea-level Rotterdam has good reason to be unusually conscious of climate change, but developers hope to spread the concept; an FAQ here explains how club owners anywhere can get into the groove.
Meanwhile, New Yorkers turning green with envy over this planet-friendly party zone can cheer up: This month sees the debut in Manhattan’s SoHo of Greenhouse, the city’s first L.E.E.D. certified nightclub. As described in a press release posted online by BPM Magazine, the club sounds like an attempt to meld conspicuous consumption (”multiple VIP sections” will be available, and one assumes those cocktails won’t be cheap) with a green ethos demanding recycled materials, biodegradable soaps in the bathroom, and LED lighting.
Copyright © 2008 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media
