Fire gets it’s energy from fuel+oxygen. Most life does too. Plants (and other photosynthetic organisms) can also get energy from light but that requires you to sit in the sun doing not much for a long time. There’s also chemosynthesis, where energy is obtained from a chemical reaction, but that’s usually not nearly as powerful as oxidation.
Put another way, a car with NOS is way faster and more powerful than one without. So too is life that uses oxygen more powerful than life that doesn’t.
That’s really interesting. I didn’t realize the burning in slow motion thing was so literal. Thanks for the comment!
It’s so ingrained in our life processes. You know Calories? The capital C version(or Kcal in some countries) is 1000 calories. What do they measure? The potential heat whatever is being measured can generate. Our fuel intake is measured by how well it burns.
