energy

Energy is a state of a system which can generate >work by means of the transformation of free into bounded energy. In closed systems, this implies the increase of >entropy. Hence, work that generates states with lower total entropy is only possible through the inflow of free energy into the system, because otherwise the system will end up in a state of maximum entropy, with all energy dissipated as heat that can no longer be put into work. This is a fundamental feature of >production.

In economic systems, this inflow of energy is bimodally equivalent to a continuous increase of knowledge, which is in turn enabling the system to use more free energy. Hence, >growth and increasing energy utilization are necessary complements.

In practice, the use of energy in economic systems is directly related to >technology, either on the producer or the user side. This means that one of the fundamental economic problems is to achieve a positive net energy balance in energy production. Traditional agricultural economies relied on sunlight energy almost exclusively, whereas in industrial economies there has been a heavy reliance on non-reproducible fossile stocks of energy. Thus, energy production also lies in the core of contemporary environmental plights, as global warming which is a direct reflection of the laws of thermodynamics.

Basic References
A useful survey is:
M. Faber, R. Manstetten, J. Proops, Ecological Economics, Cheltenham: Elgar, 1996

Semantic Field
entropy   production
energy   work