Company spokesperson: In lieu of redesigning our plants, our company recently launched an environmental protection campaign to buy and dispose of old cars, which are generally highly pollutive. Our plants account for just 4 percent of the local air pollution, while automobiles that predate 1980 account for 30 percent. Clearly, we will reduce air pollution more by buying old cars than we would by redesigning our plants.
Summarize Argument
The company spokesperson concludes that the company will reduce air pollution more by buying old cars than it would by redesigning its plants. She supports this by saying that, while the company’s plants account for 4% of local air pollution, automobiles from before 1980 account for 30%.
Notable Assumptions
The company spokesperson assumes that buying and disposing of old cars will effectively reduce pollution. She doesn’t consider how many old cars must be disposed of to make an impact or how disposal methods might impact pollution. She also doesn’t consider which old cars the company needs to buy in order to effectively reduce pollution.
A
Only 1 percent of the automobiles driven in the local area predate 1980.
We know that cars that predate 1980 account for 30% of local air pollution. So, even if only 1% of local cars predate 1980, that 1% still accounts for 30% of local air pollution. Thus, (A) doesn’t weaken the conclusion that disposing of these cars would better reduce pollution.
B
It would cost the company over $3 million to reduce its plants’ toxic emissions, while its car-buying campaign will save the company money by providing it with reusable scrap metal.
The spokesperson’s conclusion is about how the company will most effectively reduce local air pollution. Whether the company also saves money in the process is irrelevant.
C
Because the company pays only scrap metal prices for used cars, almost none of the cars sold to the company still run.
Cars made before 1980 that aren't running don’t contribute to local air pollution. So, if most of the cars the company buys aren't running, the company is not effectively reducing local air pollution.
D
Automobiles made after 1980 account for over 30 percent of local air pollution.
The spokesperson’s argument only addresses the pollution caused by cars made before 1980. The pollution caused by cars made after 1980 is irrelevant.
E
Since the company launched its car-buying campaign, the number of citizen groups filing complaints about pollution from the company’s plants has decreased.
Citizen complaints about pollution don’t necessarily reflect the actual amount of pollution. The spokesperson's argument is about which method will best reduce pollution, not which will best reduce citizen complaints.