PT91.S2.Q12 - people generally notice and are concerned

lsat2021-1

Why is AC C incorrect? Isn’t the publics awareness for obvious things an explanation in itself for why the water issue is well known? Thanks for help

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https://7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-91-section-2-question-12/

KevinLuminateLSAT

The first sentence says that people notice and are concerned about "only the most obvious public health concerns". This is like a rule that governs what people notice and are concerned about.

We are then told that ozone is dangerous for some people. The author contrasts ozone with contaminated water, which is something people are aware presents a more widespread threat than ozone.

Applying the rule to the ozone vs. contaminated water situation, the argument concludes that there's unlikely to be a widespread movement regarding air pollution controls. This is coming from the part of the first sentence which says that people are concerned about only the most obvious public health concerns. Since ozone isn't the most obvious health concern, people won't be concerned with it.

So why is (C) wrong? Well, is the purpose of the first sentence to explain why the public is aware of the contaminated water problem? Set aside whether you think that the first sentence could be put forth as an explanation for the awareness. Since (C) is saying that the first sentence "is used to explain", that requires that the author's purpose in providing the first sentence is the explanation. I think the LSAT would say no - the author is using the rule in the first sentence to show why the public is unlikely to notice or be concerned about the ozone issue. The part about awareness of contaminated water is simply meant to show that there exists a more obvious problem, which the author combines with the first sentence to reach the conclusion that the ozone problem won't be dealt with right now.

I've taken a stab at a parallel argument that perhaps might help clarify what's going on here:

People generally like and stay in touch with only the kindest acquaintances. Although John has been somewhat kind to Tracy, who doesn't mind hanging out with John, Tracy is quite fond of Hedwig, who has proven himself to be much kinder than John. Hence, Tracy is unlikely to stay in touch with John at this time.

Would you say that the purpose of the first sentence is to explain why Tracy really likes Hedwig?