The Origin of Heat Energy On Earth
Earth's proximity to the Sun is the reason that almost everything near Earth's surface is warm with a temperature substantially above absolute zero. Solar radiation constantly replenishes heat energy that Earth loses into space and a relatively stable state of near equilibrium is achieved. Because of the wide variety of heat diffusion mechanisms (one of which is black-body radiation which occurs at the speed of light), objects on Earth rarely vary too far from the global mean surface and air temperature of 287 to 288 K (14 to 15 °C). The more an object's or system's temperature varies from this average, the more rapidly it tends to come back into equilibrium with the ambient environment.
Read more about this topic: Thermal Energy
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)
“We should conserve evil just as we should conserve the forests. It is true that by thinning and clearing the forests the earth grew warmer.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)