>>There is a quantity called "entropy" that always increases or stays constant, once a system is in equilibrium; but it never decreases. No way, however contrived, has been found to counter the increase in entropy.
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>This reminds me of the thesis, found in Stanisław Lem's "Summa technologiae", that life is the ultimate anti-entropy. It's increasing information, getting energy organized, aggregated and put to work. This is a strictly local negation of entropy, and the total entropy still increases, but nonetheless it's an exception from the global "entropy increases" rule.

I never read that book, although I did read some of Lem's books (the German translation).

"Increase of entropy" applies to closed systems - thus, ultimately, to the entire Universe. Earth is not a closed system; it receives energy from the Sun, and radiates energy back to space. The entropy of Earth remains more or less stable (or decreases, if you consider the complexity of life); the entropy of the Universe as a whole increases.