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#23476
Complete Question Explanation

Strengthen-#%. The correct answer choice is (D)

Here the author presents several facts regarding paper versus plastic trash, and their relative effects on the environment. Whether you measure in terms of volume or weight, plastic makes up a smaller portion of garbage than paper, and pound for pound (or cubic foot by cubic foot), the two have equal detrimental effects associated.

Therefore, the author concludes, popular opinion is incorrect, and plastic is actually less detrimental nationwide than paper.

This question requires that we find the choice which bolsters the author's conclusion that use of plastics is less environmentally harmful than use of paper products.

Answer choice (A): This answer choice plays no role in the author's argument, because the stimulus has already established that paper makes up more trash than plastics, whether measured by volume or by weight.

Answer choice (B): This answer choice is wrong for basically the same reason as incorrect answer choice (A) above: the relative importance of volume versus weight is irrelevant because we already know that paper makes up more trash by either measure.

Answer choice (C): This is irrelevant to the question of whether plastics use is less environmentally damaging than paper use.

Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer choice. The author points out that paper produces proportionally more trash than plastics. If the production of paper is more environmentally harmful as well, then this strengthens the author's conclusion that plastics use is less damaging to the environment than use of paper products.

Answer choice (E): This type of variation is to be expected, but does not affect the strength of the author's argument, which is based on a national study, of the national proportions of trash.
 rpark8214
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#34451
Hi,
I totally understand how answer D most strengthens the argument; however, for the sake of review, can it be argued that answer choice C to some extent strengthens the argument, and thus is relevant?

In regards to the "sum" in answer choice C, if paper is proportionally greater than plastic products, and this sum caused more damage to the environment than any other trash studied, could it be argued that this statement does indeed strengthen the conclusion that the use of plastics does less harm than paper products? If there is more paper, isn't it technically doing more harm? Or am I completely off? Either way, your input is much appreciated!
 AthenaDalton
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#34484
rpark8214 wrote:Hi,
I totally understand how answer D most strengthens the argument; however, for the sake of review, can it be argued that answer choice C to some extent strengthens the argument, and thus is relevant?

In regards to the "sum" in answer choice C, if paper is proportionally greater than plastic products, and this sum caused more damage to the environment than any other trash studied, could it be argued that this statement does indeed strengthen the conclusion that the use of plastics does less harm than paper products? If there is more paper, isn't it technically doing more harm? Or am I completely off? Either way, your input is much appreciated!
Good evening!

With regards to answer (C), you may be overlooking a key word-- (C) indicates that the total damage caused both by trash AND by paper is greater than the sum of other trash. It doesn't provide any info on the relative harms of paper as compared to plastic, which is what the argument is getting at.

In other words, (C) doesn't more the needle either way with regards to whether paper does more or less harm to the environment than plastic. We're not concerned with how paper or plastic compare to all other forms of pollution, just how one compares with the other.

With regards to the question of, if there's more paper, isn't it doing more harm -- you're absolutely right! The argument in the prompt is exactly what you described: by volume or weight, paper and plastic do the same amount of harm when discarded as trash. Therefore, since there is more paper than plastic, paper does more harm than plastic.

(D) adds more weight to the argument that paper is worse for the environment by saying that, not only does discarding paper/plastic harm the environment, but manufacturing paper/plastic harms the environment too. The prompt indicated that discarding a certain volume of paper does the same amount of harm as discarding the same volume of plastic. (D) tells us that, if we take into account environmental harms from manufacturing, the two products are no longer on equal footing -- paper loses out both by total volume discarded AND by per-unit harm from production costs.

I hope this helps clarify things -- good luck!

Athena Dalton

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