re: "Is Naure One Mean Mother?"
We would not be here be it not by the rath of an asteroid and who knows how many astereroids AND comets before that.
There is a wonderfull NASA tid-bit about collisions that comes on periodically on NASA tv that pretty much explains it all.
No, our mother nature was not kind, but what was kind to us became what we are today.
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BTW, happy mother's day.