A "rational debate" on evolution vs. ID

Tony Snow authored a great column today on the debate surrounding evolution vs. Intelligent Design.

It's refreshing to read such a commonsense piece. Of course, what else would you expect from Tony Snow?

Intelligent Design claims the chances of random evolution are virtually nil. Hard science shows us a world of dazzling order, complexity and interdependence. To take one tiny example, a single gene seems to control vision in all animals. Could this be a matter of dumb luck? Physicist Steven Weinberg estimates life wouldn't even exist if, at the instant of creation, the energy unleashed in the Big Bang had varied by one part in 10 to the 120th power. Such odds lead ID advocates to suggest that the universe didn't get orderly by chance, but at the hand of a Designer.

Some factors to consider on how special the earth is in the universe, and how if any one of a number of factors were to change by a few percentage points, it would be as uninhabitable as the other planets:

1) a paper thin crust with more than 12 tectonic plates--4 to 30 miles deep. If the crust was any thicker, the recycling of plates could not take place.
2) enough heat in its interior that it still circulates liquid iron deep inside the earth, producing the protective magnetic field.
3) if the earth was smaller, the magnetic field would be too small to protect from solar radiation and solar winds would strip away our atmosphere--producing a barren surface like Mars.
4) Earth's atmosphere - 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, 1% Carbon Dioxide, are necessary for complex life.
5) liquid water absorbs heat from the sun to regulate temperature
6) a terrestial planet with all forms of water
7) Earth inhabits the goldilocks zone in the solar system, where it is not too hot and not too cold. 5% closer to sun we would be like Venus at 900 degrees F
8) a large moon 1/4 the size of earth with strong gravitational pull to stabilize the earth's axis and produce seasonal changes and temperate climate
9) Our sun is the right size star - not too cold or too hot
10) Earth is the correct distance from the sun for life
11) We are protected by giant planets to shield us from impacts of space debris
12) We have enough water and enough continents to all for the diversity of life
13) The probability of all factors needed for complex life to be available all at the same time is one thousandth of a trillion which is much smaller than 100 billion stars in the galaxy

We are indeed rare in the galaxy--a very special place created by One who knew what He was doing!