Origin of life and that second law of thermodynamics

This article (subscription req'd) in Science magazine by P.G. Falkowski and Y. Isozaki (24 October 2008) is a perspective on the origin and cycling of free oxygen on Earth. It's a brief, good description of an important geochemical cycle. But what struck me as particularly notable was the ending paragraph, which begins

Each mole of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere required ~450 kJ equivalents of photon energy to produce.

This leads to a very clear refutation of one of the Creationists' favorite, hoary arguments. The paragraph ends

Nature certainly has provided an incredible source of potential energy for the evolution of life on Earth.

Thank you.

Baby Jesus declares war...

...against those who have engaged in the annual War Against Christmas (TM). Intelligence sources report (and this is a slam dunk) that the young Messiah has acquired six nuclear weapons as well as biowarfare capabilities. If those weapons are used, then this year's War promises to be the deadliest yet. Another disturbing report tells of hundreds of well-trained, elite suicide baptizers who have been promised seventy times seven virgins in Heaven if they complete their missions of terror.