Environmentalist: Pollution from gasoline burned by cars contributes to serious environmental problems. But the cost of these problems is not reflected in gasoline prices, and hence usually does not affect consumers’ decisions about how much to drive. Heavier taxes on gasoline, however, would reflect this cost, and as a result consumers would pollute less.
Summary
Pollution from gas burned by cars contributes to serious environmental problems. Gas prices do not reflect this environmental cost and so it usually doesn’t affect people’s decisions about how much to drive. Higher gas taxes would reflect the environmental cost and would cause people to pollute less.
Strongly Supported Conclusions
If gas prices increased, people would purchase less gas, and would thus reduce gas pollution.
Economic incentives can influence consumer decisions.
Some drivers’ decisions are not influenced by environmental costs.
A
The cost of pollution from driving should not be reflected in the price of gasoline unless the amount of pollution produced would be reduced as a result.
Unsupported. The stimulus does not claim that reduced pollution must occur in order to justify higher taxes on gasoline. Instead, it claims that increasing taxes on gas to reflect environmental cost would cause to people pollute less.
B
Heavier taxes on gasoline would increase consumers’ awareness of the kinds of environmental problems to which pollution from driving contributes.
Unsupported. Higher taxes on gas would cause people to pollute less, but we do not know that this is due to increased environmental awareness. Perhaps it is simply because gas prices are higher and so consumers can’t purchase as much gas as they did before.
C
Consumers would purchase less gasoline, on average, if the cost of the environmental problems to which pollution from driving contributes were fully reflected in the price of gasoline.
Strongly supported. Gas usage leads to pollution, and increasing the price of gas to reflect environmental cost would lead people to pollute less. So we can conclude that people would purchase less gas, on average, if gas prices increase.
D
The only cost considered by most consumers when they are deciding how much to drive is the cost of gasoline.
Unsupported. The cost of gas is a cost considered by most drivers when they are deciding how much to drive, but we do not know that it is the only cost.
E
Pollution from gasoline burned by cars will be reduced only if consumers give more consideration to the cost of that pollution when deciding how much to drive.
Unsupported. It is not necessary for consumers to consider the cost of pollution in order to reduce pollution from gas. If gas prices increase and consumers purchase less gas merely due to these taxes, gas pollution will still decrease.
A
Red devil crayfish dig chambers that remain filled with water even when the surrounding wetlands dry up.
B
Red devil crayfish present no threat to adult Hine’s emerald dragonflies.
C
The varied diet of the red devil crayfish does not include any animal species that prey on dragonfly larvae.
D
Red devil crayfish are found in many more locations than Hine’s emerald dragonflies are.
E
Populations of red devil crayfish in a wetland do not drop significantly if the local population of Hine’s emerald dragonflies dies out.
In Lawgic, this looks like:
P1. calm mind -s→ lower stress -s→ lower BP
P2. exercise -m→ calm mind
In Lawgic, this means combining the premises listed above to look like:
P1. exercise -m→ calm mind -s→ lower stress -s→ lower BP
A
For at least some people, having lower blood pressure has at least some tendency to cause their stress levels to be reduced.
B
Most people with high blood pressure can lower their blood pressure by reducing their stress levels.
C
Most people who do not exercise regularly have higher stress levels as a result.
D
Engaging in exercise can directly lower one’s blood pressure.
E
For at least some people, engaging in exercise can cause their stress levels to be reduced.