A whole new take on the 'electric slide'

Dance, Dance Revolution, in a whole new light. A new nightclub has opened in London's Kings' Cross neighborhood called Club Surya, which means sun in Hindi, and is the name of their chief Hindu sun deity.

Reuters reports:

"If Princes Harry and William and their aristocratic friends, who are frequently spotted at Boujis or Mahiki, want to attend Surya they will have to sign a pledge to work towards curbing climate change like all patrons attending the club in north London."

The club features free admittance for walkers and cyclists, a solar energy system and wind turbine which produce surplus energy--kindly donated to neighbors--they even have waterless, air flush toilets. But the real gem of the club has got to be its dance floor.

Former Parliamentary candidate, barrister, and millionaire Andrew Charalambous, or as he calls himself, Dr. Earth, is the founder of Club Surya and has promised to donate all profits from the club to charity. He is getting his money into the recycling game, largely to stock his club with recycled glass, metal and paper. But this dance floor is simply ingenious.

According to Reuters,

The dancefloor uses the concept of piezoelectricity, where crystals and ceramics create a charge to generate electricity.

"We estimate that if you had loads of clubbers dancing vigorously it would provide 60 percent of the club's energy needs," said Charalambous.

This is not exactly new technology. I remember reader a little while back in Ode Magazine some people interested in urban sustainability who had been developing a sidewalk that would produce energy.

Needless to say, the example that Mr. Charalambous is setting is an admirable one. Charity driven business, sustainabile uses of energy and educating his customer base on the need for positive progress and change. Thank you, Andrew Charalambous, for being a positive model!