NSES Content Standard B  Physical Science: Chemical reactions Grades 9-12, page 179 Chemical reactions may release or consume energy. Some reactions such as the burning of fossil fuels release large amounts of energy by losing heat and by emitting light. Light can initiate many chemical reactions such as photosynthesis and the evolution of urban smog.

 
Benchmark 4E The Physical Setting: Energy Transformations
Grades 9-12, page 86
Different energy levels are associated with different configurations of atoms and molecules. Some changes of configuration require an input of energy whereas others release energy.

Benchmark 5E The Living Environment: Flow of Matter and Energy
Grades 6-8, page 120
Food provides the molecules that serve as fuel and building material for all organisms. Plants use the energy from light to make sugars from carbon dioxide and water. This food can be used immediately or stored for later use. Organisms that eat plants break down the plant structures to produce the materials and energy they need to survive. Then they are consumed by other organisms.

Benchmark 5E The Living Environment: Flow of Matter and Energy
Grades 9-12, page 121
At times, environmental conditions are such that plants and marine organisms grow faster than decomposers can recycle them back to the environment. Layers of energy-rich organic material have been gradually turned into great coal beds and oil pools by the pressure of the overlying earth. By burning these fossil fuels, people are passing most of the stored energy back into the environment as heat and releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide.