LSAT PrepTest 123 - Section 1 - Passage 3 - Question 17

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The following passage was written in the mid-1990s.

The demand for electricity in certain countries has been projected recently to grow by 50 percent by the year 2010. Unfortunately, the increased use of fossil fuels to generate this electricity may ultimately damage human and environmental health. …

Problem · Use of fossil fuels to meet increasing electricity demand

For example, emissions of air pollutants in these countries are expected to double over the next 25 years, even if energy is used efficiently, so that local urban air quality will likely deteriorate. …

Illustrate problem · Increased air pollution

Renewable sources of electricity, such as solar radiation, wind, and waterpower, are possible solutions to the problems caused by increasing demand for electricity. …

Solution · Renewable energy

Unlike fossil fuels, renewable energy sources are available in virtually all geographic regions, and they allow electricity production without dangerous environmental pollutants. Additionally, these sources can usually be located closer to consumers than can plants that use fossil fuels, thus reducing transmission and distribution costs. …

Support solution · Benefits of renewable energy

Widely available, non-polluting, lower costs

Technologies for the successful long-term exploitation of these resources, however, are not always implemented successfully.

Limitation of solution · Implementation of renewable energy is not always successful

In rural Brazil, for example, millions of citizens do not have electricity, and the lack of necessary infrastructure has limited efforts to provide it. In 1992, an energy agency from the United States developed a joint project with two Brazilian states to install 800 household solar electrical systems and train local personnel to service them. Under the project's terms, local utilities install, maintain, and own the systems, and collect fees from users. Backers hoped the project would attract enough private investment for substantial expansion throughout Brazil. …

Introduce example · of unsuccessful renewable energy effort

Solar energy project in rural Brazil

But the project directors rejected the relatively high bids of local Brazilian companies to produce the solar collectors and thus missed an opportunity to stimulate local production. Consequently, a short-term savings in start-up costs precluded the long-term benefits deriving from the development of local production capacity and technological skill, which eventually would have led to independence from costly foreign expertise. As a result, participating utilities can generate only enough income to cover operating and maintenance costs, which makes further investment and expansion unlikely. Thus, the movement toward a sustainable, rural electricity system in Brazil remains stalled.

Challenges · with Brazilian solar energy project

Project relied on foreign manufacturers and failed to invest in local solar energy industry

But some efforts have avoided these pitfalls. In the mid-1980s, a Danish energy agency helped agencies in India build three modern wind turbine plants and gradually develop local technical capacity. …

Introduce counter-example · of successful renewable energy effort

Wind energy project in India

Local participants were trained in planning, operation, maintenance, and construction of turbines. Indian firms subsequently began manufacturing turbines and, as more locally manufactured equipment became available, Indian utilities were able to increase their use of wind energy profitably. The success of these small projects spurred enthusiasm; Indian utilities were soon ordering more equipment and private investment in wind energy surged. Because the Danish agency, unlike its U.S. counterpart, recognized the importance of local involvement at all levels, the project has a good chance of remaining competitive and profitable for the long run.

explain · success of Indian wind energy project

Project invested in local training and manufacturing

Passage Style

Problem-analysis

Single position

17.

The author's attitude toward the directors of the Brazil project can most accurately be described as

Question Type

Author’s attitude

Implied

The author thinks the reason the Brazil project didn’t become a long-term success is the lack of local participation in the construction, operation, and maintenance of the solar electrical system. So the author is disappointed in the directors for not using local companies.

disapproving of their heavy dependence on private investment

The author doesn’t disapprove of private investment; she disapproves of dependence on foreign involvement. Private investment would be fine as long as there’s significant local participation.

19%

surprise at their lack of faith in the quality of local technological expertise

Although we know that the Brazil project didn’t involve much local involvement, there’s no evidence this is because of the directors’ lack of faith in local expertise. The directors were deterred by the high cost of local bids.

critical of their lack of foresight in overemphasizing the importance of reducing short-term costs

Supported. The author thinks the directors “missed an opportunity” to stimulate local production. Their desire for short-term savings ended up dooming the project long-term.

68%

outrage at their favoring profit over humanitarian goals

Not supported, because the author doesn’t suggest that the directors favored profit over humanitarian goals. They favored short-term cost savings over long-term benefits of developing local production. If they had been willing to use local production, that might be an even more profitable move for the directors.

doubtful of their desire to implement a successful solar electrical system in Brazil

The author doesn’t doubt the directors’ desire to implement solar electricity successfully. She doesn’t like the way they tried to save costs in the short-term, but this has nothing to do with lack of desire to see the project succeed.