eChapters

Green energy can be classified as any form of energy resource that results in zero greenhouse gas emissions and zero toxic byproducts. These constitute the alternate source of energy such as Solar, Bio, Hydrogen, Wind, Water etc. Renewable Energy is energy that is not depleted or expen- ded. Previously the pressure to reduce CO2 emissions dictated the energy sourcing. With recent findings from experimental evidence, global warming may not be attributable to CO₂ emissions in relation to other over-weighing causes. However the pressures to develop renewable sources continue since the cost of Oil is increasing in many countries. It is desirable and a necessity to develop renewable non-toxic energy resources. The global economy and welfare of all earth depends on it even if CO₂ is not the cause of global warming (GW). There are some factors not in the control of even the most technologically advanced society. These are solar activity such as sun spots which have huge and tremendous influence on the Earth’s climate. However we should strive not to cause any undue imbalances in the proportion matter and composition of Earth’s atmosphere. Although CO2 is a small contributor to GW in comparison to H₂O, we still have responsibility to maintain the right balance of the gases in the atmosphere by not causing undue changes to the Carbon, Nitrogen and Oxygen cycles! We are far way off from a Oil-free technology. Most transportation is still petrol driven.

Introduction 
To fight climate change and lessen dependency on fossil fuels, the world urgently needs renewable and environmentally friendly energy sources. Hydrogen has become a promising energy carrier due to its versatility and capacity to generate energy from renewable resources without releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The world's demand for energy has been steadily increasing as a result of urbanization, economic expansion, and population rise. With an estimated 10 billion people on the earth by 2050, energy consumption is only expected to increase. Fossil fuels, which include oil, coal and gas have been widely used to generate energy and are predicted to do so at least until 2050 (see Fig.6.1) [1]. Figure 1. Global primary energy consumption is broken down by energy source [2, 3]. These fuels generate a large amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) during combustion, especially carbon dioxide (CO2), which is connected to climate change and global warming. In addition, burning fossil fuels releases particulate matter (PM), sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and other pollutants that are harmful for human health. In addition, the unequal distribution of fossil fuel supply has led to increased instability globally and worries about energy security. Numerous nations started making investments in energy from renewable sources as concerns about the environment and energy security have grown. Because they emit little to no greenhouse emissions, renewable energy resources like hydroelectricity, wind, and solar power contribute to lowering the energy industry's overall environmental impact (see Fig.6.2) [4].

Introduction

In an era increasingly defined by environmental consciousness and the imperative for sustainable practices, the sports industry emerges as a pivotal arena where innovation in green intellectual property (IP) holds transformative potential. At the forefront of this movement are patents, which not only safeguard inventive ideas but also serve as catalysts for integrating eco-friendly technologies into sports equipment. This chapter explores the profound impact of green patents within the sports sector across four key dimensions, illuminating their role in driving sustainability initiatives and reshaping industry dynamics.

The integration of sustainable technologies in sports equipment represents a paradigm shift towards greener practices. From advanced materials in athletic apparel that reduce environmental impact to the design of energy-efficient stadiums, innovations in sports equipment are diversifying to align with global sustainability goals. Cutting-edge developments include biodegradable materials, solar-powered facilities, and water-saving technologies, each contributing to minimizing ecological footprints across the sports industry. By examining these advancements, we uncover how green patents not only spur technological advancement but also foster a culture of environmental stewardship among sports manufacturers and stakeholders.

Introduction

Green Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) is a relatively new and evolving concept that emerged in response to the growing global environmental challenges, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and resource depletion. It is an intersection between traditional intellectual property rights and environmental concerns, aiming to promote and protect innovation and technologies that have a positive impact on the environment and contribute to sustainable development.

The concept of Green IPR gained momentum as the world recognized the need for sustainable practices and solutions to address the adverse effects of industrialization and economic growth on the environment. Intellectual property rights, such as patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets, have long been used to incentivize and protect innovations in various fields. However, the conventional application of IPR did not explicitly consider environmental considerations.

With the rise of environmental consciousness and the acknowledgement of the limited nature of natural resources, there was a call for integrating environmental sustainability into the intellectual property framework. The idea behind Green IPR is to encourage the development and dissemination of eco-friendly technologies, products, and processes while safeguarding the rights of innovators and creators.

Introduction

As a new decade begins, the effects of climate change are being felt all around the world. Storms, floods, droughts, and wildfires are examples of events that may already be linked to climate change and that are expected to occur more frequently and intensely as well as the destruction they inflict virtually every day. The state of the world’s climate is a serious issue that requires attention. In order to create a future that is more environmentally friendly, addressing this issue is urgently required, and everyone must take this into consideration as their shared goal. Since technology is increasingly being seen as a part of the outcome.

To this end, the strengthening of national innovation systems and ensuring that people have access to effective IPPI management programmes need to be stepped up with a view to improving research and development in technologies, products and services which are needed for transformation into a more environmentally sustainable future. This crisis can’t be solved, unless there is a breakthrough technology that will make the goals achievable. This is why innovation in the field of “green” technologies will be needed and intellectual property rights will play an important role. Intellectual property rights may ensure that technological progress can be sold to allow for the continuation of research and development investment but they could also cause problems and constraints. The impact and opportunities that “Green IP” can have are therefore considerable. Regardless of their distinctions, “Green IP” will have an impact on companies from different industries, sectors, and locations. The consumer goods sector needs to improve how they go about changing the specifications for designing products that can be easily recycled and repaired.

Green manure is defined as fresh organic matter/undecomposed plant material/ real organic matter, natural plant food added to the soil for the purpose of supplying plant nutrients.

CLASSIFICATION OF GREEN MANURES

Nonlegumes: Rape seed, buck wheat, niger, rye, oats and maize

Legumes:

Grain legumes: cowpea, mungbean, pigeon pea, soybean, khesari (Lathyrus sativus)

Dual purpose legumes: cluster bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba). pillipesara, Sesbania speciosa.

Non grain legumes: sunnhemp, dhaincha, pillipesera (Phaseolus trilobus), stylosanthes and desmodium.

Introduction 
Nanotechnology has become a highly influential field in science, showcasing diverse applications and promising trends over the past few years. Nanoscience has been a source of inspiration for material science researchers, encouraging the exploration of innovative methods to synthesise novel structures with significant properties and applications(Kolahalam et al. 2019). Nanoparticles are the core of nanotechnology, with “nano” denoting sizes smaller than a billionth of a hair, specifically below 100 nm (Volath et al. 2008).The focus on small-sized nanoparticles (1–100 nm) has become a global research priority attributable to their remarkable applications in physical, chemical, and biological sciences (Jeevanandam et al., 2018). The term “nanotechnology” was coined by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman in his renowned 1959 lecture titled “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom.”(Boverhof et al., 2015).Feynman proposed the advanceof smaller devices down to the molecular scale, asserting that it was not the laws of nature but rather the lack of appropriate equipment and approaches that limited progress in working at atomic and molecular scales(Clunan et al., 2014). In recent times, nanotechnology has transitioned into a mainstream and crucial innovation. When materials are manipulated at the nanoscale, their properties undergo significant transformations, leading to remarkable applications in physics, space science, chemistry, medicine, energy renewal, healthcare, environmental science, mechanics, electronics, civil engineering, optics, and more [Figure. 1](Mourdikoudis et al., 2018; Joshi et al., 2008; Suresh Kumar et al., 2019); AarthyePandian et al., 2019).

Biological synthesis of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles

Aim

To synthesize nano ZnO particles using fungal isolates.

Introduction

The ZnO nanoparticle are effective anti-bacterial and antiodur agent. Biological synthesis of ZnO nanoparticle is a new approach for environmentally benign protocol in context to green nanotechnology, (Raliya and Tarafdar, 2013).

Aim

To synthesize Zero valent (Fe) (nZVIs) iron using tea leaf extract.

Introduction

In this approach extracts of natural products (in most cases green tea leaves) with high antioxidant capacities are used. The compounds present in these extracts react with Fe (III) in solution to form nZVIs (Nadagouda et al., 2010).

Introduction

Soil is a non-renewable resource that sustains life, providing ecosystem services such as biomass production, contaminants filtration, raw material supply, nutrient, and hydrological cycle (Panagos et al., 2020). It contributes about 95% to global food production (Borrelli et al., 2020). Soil is a major global biodiversity pool and a large carbon pool on Earth. Therefore, it plays a crucial role in regulating energy and mass flow and their transfer between the biosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere (Ferreira et al., 2021). Climate change and unsustainable management practices are threatening the soil’s natural capital resulting in soil degradation occurring simply from erosion to contamination and leading the soil to completely unproductiveness under severe conditions, leading to food insecurity (Ashoka et al., 2017; Syed et al., 2022)

Introduction

Western world started paying attention to climate change after the Industrial Revolution when collateral environmental problems began appearing with the development. But in India, many shastras gave philosophy of sustainable development before the evolution of many civilizations.

It means that “All this is for habitation by the Lord, whatsoever is individual universe of movement in the universal motion. Man should use all resources by renunciation, he should not see them with feeling of lust”. Here, renunciation means controlled use of resources. It is known as Green Application of the resources nowadays.

Whenever the term ‘green’ is used as an adjective with certain phrases, the said phrase is considered to depict a friendly character with the environment. In this sense, the Cambridge Dictionary defines the word ‘green’ as “relating to or believing in the protection of the natural environment.” For instance, Green Technology, one of those concepts towards which this paper is concerned, will refer to those technologies which are environment friendly. But this won’t help us understand what green technology actually means.

Tourism is a phenomenon, which has taken off immensely in the past three decades. It concerns us all, be it by allowing us to travel long distances as tourists, or by forcing upon us a mass of visitors to our part of the world. In the past, people did not travel half as much. Financial obstacles and responsibilities to land and animals stopped them from doing so. Only in 1845 did Thomas Cook of Leicester, England, organize the first package tour, making this experience available to people outside of the privileged classes by cutting down on expenses. By 1939, an estimated one million people were traveling abroad each year. Nowadays, the population of the Mediterranean swells to double over the summer, from 130 million resident inhabitants during the winter to 260 million in high season. There were about 698 million international tourist arrivals worldwide in 2000. All regions in the world grew, and the fastest developing region continued to be East Asia and the Pacific. Tourism has become the largest industry in the world. And just like all thriving industries, though it has a lot to give, it also takes a lot in turn. Unfortunately, the toll that we pay for it has been rising steadily. While the prospect of people traveling less in the future seems improbable, to say the least, a new idea has already sprung up: If we cannot stop tourism, let us at least travel sensibly.

Mungbean is one of the most important pulse crops. It is grown in almost all parts of the country. Mungbean is primarily a crop of rainy season; however, with the development of early maturing varieties, it has proved to be an ideal crop for spring and summer seasons. Middle of March to last week of June is the most suitable growing period where there is a plenty of life-giving sunshine. During this period high temperature and low humidity keep insects and disease infestations at their lowest. Summer season offers an excellent opportunity for raising short duration pulses.

1.1 Introduction

Greenhouse effect, regulated by the presence of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere, is a natural process that plays a major part in shaping the earth’s climate. A continued rise in concentration of the greenhouse gases has led to enhanced greenhouse effect resulting in global warming and global climate change. The impact of human activities on greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission through fossil fuel burning, agriculture and industrial processes is important and familiar to people. This chapter addresses basic principles and physics of greenhouse effect and the role of Indian agriculture in GHG emissions. Agriculture is a potential source and sink to GHGs in atmosphere. It is a source for three primary GHGs: CO₂, N₂O and CH4 and sink for atmospheric CO₂ . Management of agricultural land, land use change and forestry has a profound influence on atmospheric GHGs concentration. The two broad anthropogenic sources of GHGs emission from agriculture are the energy use in agriculture (manufacture and use of agricultural inputs and farm machinery) and the management of agricultural land. Large sections of the India’s population depend on biomass resources like wood, crop residues and cattle dung for energy. In the agriculture sector, besides the CO₂ emissions due to burning of crop and animal waste, India’s large ruminant population and rice fields are significant contributors to CH₄ emissions. An understanding of GHG emissions by sources and removal by sinks in agriculture is important to take appropriate mitigation and adaptation strategies and to estimate and create inventory of GHGs.

Introduction

Precise and continuous measurement the greenhouse gases (GHGs) fluxes/ emissions in agricultural systems are required for accounting and budgeting of carbon. Further, the long-term measurements of GHGs fluxes are equally important as precise measurement. Therefore, high frequency and long-term measurement of GHGs across the cropping systems are essential for chalking out the GHGs emissions mitigation strategies. Various technologies with definite working principles are used for estimation of GHGs emissions in agriculture.

Greenhouse Gases Estimation Techniques

Two basic principles are followed to estimate greenhouse gases in agriculture. One is the collection of GHGs from the field and subsequent analysis of the concentration of gases through gas chromatography (GC). Another principle is based on sensors measurement with the help of infrared gas analyze (IRGA). The two techniques used for the measurement are (i) ‘closed chamber method’ (manual/automatic), and (ii) ‘sensor-based method’. Generally, the GHGs fluxes in agricultural crop field are estimated by ‘closed chamber method’ for methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O). And for carbon dioxide (CO₂) measurement either soil respiratory chamber or canopy chamber is used that measures CO₂ with the help of infrared gas analyzer (IRGA).

1.1 Introduction

Increased emission of greenhouse gases results in climate change which becomes one of the most prominent environmental issues to the world today. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the major greenhouse gas whereas nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) are other substantial contributors to climate change (IPCC, 2014, Tongwane et al., 2016). However, these gases are emitted in minimal quantities in comparison to carbon dioxide but impart more global warming effect by absorbing more infrared radiations (Oertel et al., 2016). The warming potential of one kg of CH4 is 23 times more than one kg of CO2 while  in the case of N2O, it was nearly 300 times more than CO2 (Ramaswamy et al., 2001, Bharti et al., 2019; Biswas et al., 2010). Around one-third of methane and two –thirds of nitrous oxide come from soil (Prather et al., 1995, Tubiello et al., 2015, Smith, 2016).

3.1 Chemistry of greenhouse gases (ghgs)

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are atmospheric-gases that have capabilities to absorb and radiate-back the infrared (IR) radiation in the earth-atmosphere system (Figure 3.1). In this process the atmospheric-gases absorb and radiate- back IR radiation in lower atmosphere effectively emitting and absorbing heat energy heat energy. They maintain the heat budget of earth-atmosphere and keep our plant warm. If we typically see the chemistry of those gases, the key point is that they should have dipole moments. This is the property which makes them capable to absorb and radiate-back the range of IR radiation. In a molecule when valence-electrons are not equally shared in a bond between the two atoms, a slight positive charge is developed above one atom and a negative charge on the other atom. That charge difference of the different atoms in a molecule generates the dipole moment. For instance, in water vapour (H₂O- vapour), an unequal sharing of electrons and or separation of charge causes dipole moment. In H₂O, the centre has a positive charge at the hydrogen atoms and negative charges are located on the oxygen atom. The magnitude of dipole- charges, vibration and stretching of O-H bond generates certain frequency of the oscillating dipole moment that actually regulates the absorption capacity of IR radiation by H₂O vapour.

Naturally Greenhouse gases are cover as blanket on the Earth and kept it about 33⁰C warmer than it would be without these gases in the atmosphere. This is called as the “Greenhouse Effect”.

Over the past century, the Earth has increased in temperature by about 0.5⁰C and many scientists believe that this is because of an increase in concentration of the main greenhouse gases viz., carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorocarbons. People are now calling this climate change over the past century the beginning of “Global Warming”.

Fast increasing population, changing climate, shrinking land and water resources are the major challenges before us to meet the food and nutritional security of the population at global level. Improvement in the production and productivity of crops are the immediate need to boost the availability of food and improvement economic conditions of the farmers. Greenhouse technology has shown tremendous potential in improvement in production and productivity of crops even under uncongenial soil and climatic conditions. The farmers having very small farm holdings in countries like Japan, Holland and South Korea have improved their income and living standards by adopting protected cultivation technologies. However, India is yet to trap the potentials of the technology. Modern green houses require uninterrupted huge electric power for control of environment (heating/cooling/air circulation etc), which is considered one of the major cause for global warming. High installation and running (energy) cost, high cost of production; poor government support and lack of farmers’ friendly/cost effective greenhouse technology are some other challenges. Low cost zero energy based solar greenhouse technology popularizes the green houses in small and marginal farmers of remote areas. Such greenhouses are specifically design using local resources and also to trap the natural solar radiation/ heat and maintain it for longer period. The designs do not require electric power which ultimately reduces the installation/running cost and also does not have the adverse effects on the environment. This will not only improve the economic status of the farmers but also provide nutritive food to their families and also enhance production and productivity of various crops in the country without deteriorating the environment.