  In this short review, I discuss the sensitivity of the generation of the
light and the life-relevant elements like carbon and oxygen under changes of
the parameters of the Standard Model pertinent to nuclear physics. Chiral
effective field theory allows for a systematic and precise description of the
forces between two, three, and four nucleons. In this framework, variations
under the light quark masses and the electromagnetic fine structure constant
can also be consistently calculated. Combining chiral nuclear effective field
theory with Monte Carlo simulations allows to further calculate the properties
of nuclei, in particular of the Hoyle state in carbon, that plays a crucial
role in the generation of the life-relevant elements in hot, old stars. The
dependence of the triple-alpha process on the fundamental constants of Nature
is calculated and some implications for our anthropic view of the Universe are
discussed.
