Entropy sometimes is realted to how much energy is required to do something,
but not always. It applies only to thermodynamic (i.e., statistical)
processes, such as heat transfer, a change in temperature, mixing of
dissimilar substances, or a chemical reaction. Merely raising or lowering the
height of something does not change its entropy. The reason that more energy
is required to lift water from a deeper water table is simply that you are
working against gravity over a greater change in height (same reason it takes
twice as much work to climb two flights of stairs as one); it has nothing to
do with thermodynamics or entropy.
William Lockeretz
Tufts University
Medford, MA