Equilibrium

I have been thinking more about equilibrium and what that may mean as far as this earth is concerned. I think that most Later-day Saints picture the creation as a somewhat immediate and 'fixed' creation - even those that believe in some sort of process still think or have the picture in their minds of a fairly static earth. Such as the atmosphere as being always here in it's present state from the 'beginning'. Even though I have taught for years about the evolution of the atmosphere, it hit me harder this morning as I was thinking about some of the 'Gaia' ideas. The atmosphere of the earth is very much out of chemical equilibrium. It has way too much very reactive oxygen (~20%). Although the atmosphere is out of equilibrium, it is 'maintained' in this charged state. It is dynamic but not explosive. It seems that the best current explanation for this dynamic homeostasis is biosciences. Life processes maintain the dynamics. The atmosphere and life are so tightly linked that they most certainly have co-evolved.