Australian stromatolites

The first life was cellular, bacteria-like.  They soon organised themselves into higher structures.  Generally, the original life stayed in areas that were radiation free like the ocean.  I'm tempted to suggest that multi-cellular life at least couldn't have happened untill nature was dammed(as in hydro-electric power dam) up enough.  Only by there being a place in nature where nature was dammed up could life have arose- and likewise for multicellular life.

I don't know which was first, fish or these stromatelites found in Shark bay Australia; but, these domes are blue-green algae communities that are protected from the sun by means of minerals secreted by themselves. Here, they've dammed up nature in order to make conditions suitable for themselves.  James Lovelock came up with a Gaia theory that says life came up with the ozone layer, and keeps the temperature here on earth good and consistent for life itself to survive.  However true the extent of this theory, it seems that life has dammed up nature on it's own to make its survival possible.  I've often wondered whether intelligence comes by means of some process of damming up nature.  I've yet to figure out how.