Life is the same kind of part of the cosmos as energy and matter.
The radiations that pour upon the Earth cause the biosphere to take on properties unknown to lifeless planetary surfaces, and thus transform the face of the Earth. Activated by radiation, the matter of the biosphere collects and redistributes solar energy, and converts it ultimately into free energy capable of doing work on Earth.
The outer layer of the Earth must not be considered as a region of matter alone, but also as a region of energy and a source of transformation of the planet.
No chemical force on Earth is more constant than living organisms taken in aggregate.