A multinational corporation, seeking to reduce its carbon footprint, announced a new initiative to convert all company vehicles to electric models within five years. The CEO stated that this initiative alone would demonstrate the company's strong commitment to environmental sustainability and significantly reduce its overall environmental impact. Which of the following, if true, most strongly suggests that the CEO's claim about 'significantly reduc[ing] its overall environmental impact' is overstated?
- AThe cost of maintaining and charging a fleet of electric vehicles is projected to be lower than that of gasoline-powered vehicles.
- BThe production of electric vehicles, including their batteries, has its own significant environmental costs.
- CMany employees frequently use public transportation or bicycle to commute, reducing the need for company vehicles.
- DThe company's primary environmental impact stems from its manufacturing processes, which rely heavily on fossil fuels.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. The company's primary environmental impact stems from its manufacturing processes, which rely heavily on fossil fuels.
The CEO claims that converting vehicles will *significantly* reduce *overall* environmental impact. To show this is overstated, one must identify another, larger source of environmental impact that the initiative doesn't address. Option B indicates that the company's *primary* impact is from manufacturing, which relies on fossil fuels. If this is the main source of impact, then converting vehicles (a secondary source) will not lead to a *significant overall* reduction, making the CEO's claim overstated.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. This addresses financial savings, which is irrelevant to the claim about environmental impact reduction.
- B. This points out an environmental cost of electric vehicles, which partially offsets the benefit, but doesn't necessarily mean the *overall* reduction is insignificant if vehicle emissions were a large component.
- C. This suggests that the impact of company vehicles might already be small, but it doesn't identify a *different, larger* source of impact that is being overlooked.
Identifying Primary Unaddressed Causes
Identifying a primary unaddressed cause involves pointing out a major source of a problem or impact that a proposed solution fails to tackle, thereby questioning the solution's effectiveness in achieving its stated broad goals.
- Solution focuses on a secondary problem source.
- A larger, primary source is ignored.
- Challenges the 'significance' of the solution's impact.
Memory trick: Don't just fix the ant hill if there's a mountain to move.