Editing Sunlight (section)

==Life on Earth==
[[File:Dülmen, Göversheide -- 2015 -- 7718-22.jpg|thumb|upright|Sunlight penetrating through a [[forest canopy]] in Germany]]
The existence of nearly all [[life]] on Earth is fueled by light from the Sun. Most [[autotroph]]s, such as plants, use the energy of sunlight, combined with carbon dioxide and water, to produce simple sugars—a process known as [[photosynthesis]]. These sugars are then used as building-blocks and in other synthetic pathways that allow the organism to grow.

[[Heterotroph]]s, such as animals, use light from the Sun indirectly by consuming the products of autotrophs, either by consuming autotrophs, by consuming their products, or by consuming other heterotrophs. The sugars and other molecular components produced by the autotrophs are then broken down, releasing stored solar energy, and giving the heterotroph the energy required for survival. This process is known as [[cellular respiration]].

In [[prehistory]], humans began to further extend this process by putting plant and animal materials to other uses. They used animal skins for warmth, for example, or wooden weapons to hunt. These skills allowed humans to harvest more of the sunlight than was possible through glycolysis alone, and human population began to grow.

During the [[Neolithic Revolution]], the domestication of plants and animals further increased human access to solar energy. Fields devoted to crops were enriched by inedible plant matter, providing sugars and [[nutrients]] for future harvests. Animals that had previously provided humans with only meat and tools once they were killed were now used for labour throughout their lives, fueled by [[grasses]] inedible to humans. [[Fossil fuel]]s are the remnants of ancient plant and animal matter, formed using energy from sunlight and then trapped within Earth for millions of years.