mals64

It seems that you are assuming that the pressure to survive is lower in places where there is abundant resouces, i.e. water, sunlight, temperature. Even in a rich and highly diverse environment such as a rainforest the pressure to survive is enormous, yet it doesn't arise due to a lack of resources. The pressure comes from predation and competition for those resources. Predation pressures favor those individuals with characteristics which give them an advantage in avoiding predation, for example, camouflage or poisonous skin in a frog, or toxins in a plants leaves or fruit. Competition pressures favor those individuals with characteristics which give them an advantage in obtaining resources in a highly competive environment. For example, the camouflage in a snake to help it catch prey, or the ability to tolerate plant toxins in an insect or herbivore.

Good question and definitely not a pointless one. If the earth began spinning in the opposite direction then this would have a profound effect on the earths climate, biology and biogeography. Because of the coriolis force generated by earth's rotation, low pressure systems spin anti-clockwise in the northen hemisphere and clockwise in the the southern hemisphere. The opposite is true for areas of high pressure and these forces combine to create the west to east movement of weather in the earths temperate zones, which in turn creates the pattern of currents seen in the earths oceans. If we reverse the rotation, the weather patterns and prevailing winds will now reverse, which will in turn completely alter the pattern of ocean currents and the distribution of heat in the oceans. Whole continents would have permanent and dramatic changes to climate, with areas which were once wet becoming deserts and areas which were once dry becoming moist. Many rivers would run dry and new rivers would cut their path to the ocean.The dramatic changes to local climates would likey lead to extinctions and dislocations of flora and fauna on a massive scale.