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SCRANTON – Are you a socially frustrated tree-hugger? Do you argue with co-workers over recycling or struggle for topics to discuss at the bar, even though you know a lot about solar panels?

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Jessica Nolan, left, and Ashlyn Gomez of the Scranton chapter of Green Drinks gather with others at Dionysus bar.

PETE G. WILCOX/THE TIMES LEADER

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The Scranton chapter of Green Drinks meets on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. at Dionysus at 244 Penn Ave. The chapter has a page on Facebook, and more information about the group can be found at www.greendrinks.org.

And now, once a month, there’s a place to go where everybody knows your pain. Green Drinks, a loosely organized international movement to disarm potentially explosive debate of environmental topics with alcohol, now has a Scranton chapter.

It held its first informal get-together Tuesday evening at Dionysus bar on Penn Avenue. About a dozen people – all of whom had at least a slight environmental leaning – showed up, and the reaction was positive.

“I think it’s an interesting opportunity for people with an environmental focus to get together and have a cocktail once in a while,” said Bernie McGurl, the executive director of the Lackawanna River Corridor Association.

The chapter is somewhat of a transplant. Jessica Nolan, who teaches a course in “conservation psychology” at the University of Scranton, got the idea when she was in grad school at the University of Arkansas. When she came here, she brought up the idea to the Northeastern Pennsylvania Conservation Alliance.

“I bit on the hook and said, ‘Fabulous; what is it? It sounds fun,’ ” said Ashlyn Gomez, an alliance member. “I called her and said, ‘We have to do this,’ so her and I have spent the last month and a half for tonight. … Those of us in the business community, we do this all the time. We have breakfasts; we have lunches.”

Nolan sees the meetings “as something of a support group” because defending environmental practices “can be intense.”

The group, however, connects those people so they “feel like you’re part of something bigger,” Nolan said.

Attorney Jared Lavelle agreed, as did Laura Keating, who plans to use the events “to make more connections in Scranton.” Keating is a field organizer for the Alliance for Climate Protection.

While the organizers hope the events lead to jobs or other collaborations, they’re equally interested in interacting with those on the other side of issues. “I’m curious,” Gomez said. “I don’t want them to feel like they have to defend themselves when they come here.”

In fact, Nolan acknowledged that it’s really just a chance to discuss complex topics at the bar. “I work 12-hour days, so I feel entitled to my two-hour happy hour,” she said. “I can consider it part of my research.”