PrepTest 136, Section 2, Question 12
Because dried peat moss, which is derived from(75 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(10 more words not shown)
- AUsing a product(17 more words not shown)
- BA practice is(14 more words not shown)
- CA practice is(18 more words not shown)
- DIf the environmental(16 more words not shown)
- EIf the practices(12 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
“Renewable” doesn't mean we can use as much as we like. If we remove the moss faster than it grows back, the supply shrinks even though renewal is possible. And having no chemical additives doesn't rule out every other kind of environmental cost.
The author identifies a cost: these moss areas contribute enormous amounts of oxygen, and the industry is depleting them faster than they recover. I'd still be curious about the full picture. What if the industry originally planted some moss that otherwise wouldn't exist? That could matter to a comparison of total effects. It doesn't erase the stated depletion, though, or establish that harvesting cultivated moss is harmless.
What we’re looking for
We're asked for a principle that helps justify the author's conclusion. So focus on the reason actually offered: the practice removes an important source of oxygen. We need a rule explaining why that oxygen loss makes the practice environmentally unsound.
Working the answers
- A
This pushes back against the gardeners' reasoning: being renewable and free of additives doesn't guarantee that a product's use is environmentally sound. But saying such a product may be unsound doesn't tell us why this particular practice is unsound. B connects the specific harm in the evidence to the judgment the author makes.
- BCorrect
This supplies that connection. The evidence describes the rapid depletion of moss areas that contribute a large amount of oxygen. The principle says a practice that significantly reduces oxygen entering the atmosphere is not environmentally sound. Now the stated oxygen cost gives a reason for rejecting the gardeners' environmental assessment.
- C
The rain forests help us understand the scale of the moss's oxygen contribution. We aren't told that using peat moss protects those forests. A rule about protecting rain forests therefore doesn't establish the conclusion about depleting moss.
- D
This would support calling a practice sound if its benefits exceeded its costs. The author doesn't establish such a balance of benefits, and the conclusion calls the practice unsound. D doesn't supply the connection from the actual oxygen loss to that negative judgment.
- E
Banning the practice would be a further policy conclusion. The author argues that the gardeners are wrong about its environmental soundness, not that the practice must be prohibited. A rule about bans doesn't directly supply the missing standard for the environmental judgment.
More Strengthen questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Strengthen questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.