Better Clubbin’

Nightclub enthusiasts with a green social consciousness have a few new venues to patronize. Not many of them yet, but enough have popped up to call it a trend — they reflect a wide range of eco-initiatives. San Francisco’s Temple Nightclub, for example, says it’s diverting 89 percent of its landfill waste. They serve drinks in biodegradable corn-based cups, rainwater flushes the toilets, and a vertical garden provides noise insulation and eats up carbon emissions. Chicago is the home of the Butterfly Social Club, where employees pedal a bike that powers the DJ booth and the drink machines. Recycled waste products like clay and straw are the materials that make up the bar, and all drinks and mixers are organic. And if you’re visiting the Netherlands, the Sustainable Dance Club has a dance floor that generates electricity when it’s danced upon. The greater the intensity of the dancing, the greater the amount of electricity produced. So if the lights start to dim, dance harder! Questions can be sent to Jim Parks at jrparks@mac.com. To find out more about Jim Parks and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.