[solardev]

A few comments here say humans are reconstituted preexisting matter. But aren't there added inputs from sunlight and photosynthesis over millions of years?

There's probably not a net gain, as a system, because we're also radiating heat out, burning fossil fuels, etc., but the earth isn't a closed system, is it?

If not for the constant influx of sunlight, we'd have to rely on core heat (tube worms and chemoautotrophy) to fuel metabolism, which most species don't do. It's photosynthesis of algae, plants, and cyanobacteria and subsequent predation that allows most life, including us, to flourish, no? And that requires a constant external input of sunlight?