Where does the energy that drives Earths processes come from?
Answer Tawna: Solar radiation is the most significant source of energy for all of the planets processes, but it is by no means the ONLY one. The presence of water in large quantities in the atmosphere and throughout the planet’s environment directly effects the global energy budget (that is, how the incoming and outgoing planetary energy is distributed between different processes). The earth’s energy budget is the overall description of the processes that regulate the energy received and emitted by the planet. The energy of sunlight heats the earth, and the earth absorbs some of this energy and radiates the rest of it back into space. Properties such as the earth’s albedo (its surface reflectivity) and processes like the greenhouse effect affect the planet’s energy budget. Earth exchanges energy with its environment (the solar system) via radiation. The radiation balance of the planet determines our climate. This balance includes energy from the sun, or solar energy, one source of ener
