It is quite likely that if the large planetismal that helped form the moon (read my previous post) did not hit the Earth we would not be here today!

That massive impact is believed to have caused Earth's obliquity (tilt), speed up our rotation, and also provides us with most our of tides!

Without the tilt to Earth we would have no seasons! Imagine that...

Without the increased spin we'd have a THICK atmosphere, probably about as thick as Venus.'

It would be 90 times as pressurized at the surface that it is today!

Today if something that large hit us, it would destroy all life on the planet, probably even to the microbiological scale...but back then, it may have enabled the life on this planet to flourish.

But if adaptation and evolution are true laws of nature, wouldn't all life forms deal with whatever conditions they are faced with? If there was very little oxygen, creatures would grow huge lungs like Pamela Anderson to get more of the lower percentage of oxygen. ;)

And if there is no oxygen at all, other life forms must evolve to consume whatever chemical makeup of the air exists there. This must happen if the law of evolution is true.

Snouter that is assuming that 'life as we know it.' In that vein you're quite true.

The problem with making the claim that if Earth were different life would have still evolved (if evolution is true) is that we do not know if life as we DO NOT know it is possible.

If the conditions on Earth allowed the microbes that we came from to exist I have no doubt evolution would have allowed some other life to spring about...

But the fact that if we had 'venus like' conditions we would not be able to support some early forms of life...

I know you're strongly against evolution Snouter, what do you think the methodology of life on earth is?

...there are loads of organisms that live around thermal vents on the ocean floor, at several tens of atmospheres' pressure and at temperatures of up to 70-odd degrees Celsius. I guess that counts as a thick atmosphere with high pressure? It's not inconceivable that things like this could survive or even thrive in an environment like that described. Of course, those things are about as closely related to us as is the average doorknob, so there y'go...

Although that event is obvious to look at, there have been many meteors large and small have hit earth. Any of them could have had the needed ingredient. But, the delivery is a possibility. Scientists have found a simple stain of bacteria that can live in amazing amounts of radiation and heat, and could arrive via space. neat-o

Well, venus is 900 F all around and rains Sulfiric Acid...

:-)

THe russians landed a probe on the surface that lasted sconds before it was melted/crushed...