Does "friendlier to life" mean ....
Warmer?
Wetter?
More CO2 for plants?
Actually, the periodic stresses and excesses involved in predator prey relationships and in enduring less than perfectly hospitable conditions make for stronger species. We have seen the effects on Homo sapiens of living a softer existence, and while the species may flourish in numbers, it remains a crapshoot whether those most qualified or best suited are best suited to carry forth the genetics of the species. Those who, under the present system, receive advantages of extreme wealth, grooming for position, may not be those most qualified to lead us into the future.
Similarly, softening the stresses on individuals of the species has only led to individuals less capable of surviving outside a very controlled environment, while other stresses lead only to murder and mayhem and psychological disorders, similar to Calhoun's Rodent Utopia.
The solution for the rats, and this might sound familiar, is elimination of most/all of the affected population.