#3 - Opponents of peat harvesting in this country argue that it would alter the ecological balance o

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

Strengthen, Cause and Effect. The correct answer choice is (B).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):

This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[Cflores17]

Hello. Please explain why D is wrong and B is correct, thanks

[Luke Haqq]

Hi Cflores17!

This stimulus points out that opponents of peat harvesting in a specific country believe it would threaten the country's water supply with contamination. The author of the stimulus rejects this argument, pointing out that people have harvested peat for centuries in Ireland but the water supply has not been contaminated there.

But what if the country at issue is not at all like Ireland? Are they sufficiently alike, such that it makes sense for the author of the stimulus to make a comparison? The stimulus doesn't contain any information that provides us with answers. Answer choice (B) gets at the idea behind these questions. If true, (B) is saying that the country under consideration is "virtually identical" to Ireland for the purposes of peat harvesting. In other words, it strengthens the argument in the stimulus by confirming that it makes sense to compare the country with Ireland.

Answer choice (D) leaves those questions unanswered. Even if the "peat resources of this country are far larger than those of some countries that successfully harvest peat," we're still left wondering--would harvesting in this country specifically result in water contamination? How, if at all, does peat harvesting Ireland inform the conclusions we can reach? In the end, (D) doesn't do anything to strengthen the conclusion that the country at issue can safely proceed with harvesting peat.