It has been suggested that post-World War II concepts of environmental

Question

New Project RC Butler 2019  -  Practice 2 RC Passages Everyday   
Passage # 379, Date : 09-Oct-2019
 This post is a part of New Project RC Butler 2019 .  Click here for Details

It has been suggested that post-World
War II concepts of environmental
liability, as they pertain to hazardous
waste, grew out of issues regarding
 (5)  municipal refuse collection and disposal
and industrial waste disposal in the
period 1880-1940. To a great degree, the
remedies available to Americans for
dealing with the burgeoning hazardous
 (10)  waste problem were characteristic of the
judicial, legislative, and regulatory tools
used to confront a whole range of
problems in the industrial age. At the
same time, these remedies were
 (15)  operating in an era in which the problem
of hazardous waste had yet to be fully
recognized.

It is understandable that an assessment
of liability was narrowly drawn and most
 (20)  often restricted to a clearly identified
violator in a specific act of infringement
of the property rights of someone else.
Legislation, for the most part, focused
narrowly on clear threats to the public
 (25)  health and dealt with problems of
industrial pollution meekly if at all.
Nevertheless, it would be grossly
inaccurate to assume that the actions of
American politicians, technologists,
 (30)  health officials, judges, and legislators in
the period 1880 -1940 have had little
impact on the attempts to define
environmental liability and to confront
the consequences of hazardous waste.
 (35)  Taken as a whole, the precedents of the
late nineteenth through the mid-
twentieth century have established a
framework in which the problem of
hazardous waste is understood and
 (40)  confronted today.

Efforts at refuse reform gradually
identified the immutable connection
between waste and disease, turning
eyesores into nuisances and nuisances
 (45)  into health hazards. Confronting the
refuse problem and other forms of
municipal pollution forced cities to
define public responsibility and
accountability with respect to the
 (50)  environment. The courts retained their
role as arbiter of what constituted private
and public nuisances, making it quite
clear that they were not going to be left
out of the process of defining
 (55)  environmental liability in the United
States. In the case of hazardous waste,
precedents for behavior and remedial
action were well developed by 1940.   1 
 1. The author's primary purpose is to discuss

A. contrasts in the legislative approaches to environmental liability before and after World War II
B. legislative trends which have been instrumental in the reduction of environmental hazardous waste
C. the historical and legislative context in which to view post-World War II hazardous waste problems 
D. early patterns of industrial abuse and pollution of the American environment
E. the growth of an activist tradition in American jurisprudence

2 
 2. According to the passage, judicial assessments of liability in waste disposal disputes prior to World War II were usually based on

A. excessively broad definitions of legal responsibility
B. the presence of a clear threat to the public health
C. precedents derived from well-known cases of large-scale industrial polluters
D. restricted interpretations of property rights infringements 
E. trivial issues such as littering, eyesores, and other public nuisances

3 
 3. With which of the following statements would the author be most likely to agree?

A. The growth of community responsibility for waste control exemplifies the tendency of government power to expand at the expense of individual rights.
B. Although important legal precedents for waste control were established between 1880 and 1940, today's problems will require radically new approaches.
C. While early court decisions established important precedents involving environmental abuses by industry, such equally pressing matters as disposal of municipal garbage were neglected.
D. Because environmental legislation between 1880 and 1940 was in advance of its time it failed to affect society's awareness of environmental problems.
E. The historical role of U.S. courts in defining problems of hazardous waste and environmental liability provides valuable traditions for courts today

4 
 4. The author mentions each of the following as pertaining to 1880-1940 America EXCEPT

A. the negligible contribution of technologists toward the problem of hazardous waste 
B. the creation of precedents that would help future leaders address an environmental issue
C. the existence of regulatory tools to deal with industrial concerns
D. the forging of a link between the unsightly appearance and potential danger of industrial by-products
E. the incomplete recognition of the problems of hazardous waste

siddhantmittal · Accepted Answer

1. The author's primary purpose is to discuss

A. contrasts in the legislative approaches to environmental liability before and after World War II  Incorrect- there is no contrast discussed 
B. legislative trends which have been instrumental in the reduction of environmental hazardous waste  Incorrect- again no legislative trends 
C. the historical and legislative context in which to view post-World War II hazardous waste problems  Correct- the passage talks about how things shaped up between 1880-1940 and how that set precedents for post World War II problems 
D. early patterns of industrial abuse and pollution of the American environment  Incorrect- the passage doesnt talk about industrial abuse of Americans 
E. the growth of an activist tradition in American jurisprudence  Incorrect- irrelevant

2. According to the passage, judicial assessments of liability in waste disposal disputes prior to World War II were usually based on

A. excessively broad definitions of legal responsibility  Incorrect- there weren't clear definitions about liability in waste disposal 
B. the presence of a clear threat to the public health  Incorrect- lines were blurry as to what represents a threat 
C. precedents derived from well-known cases of large-scale industrial polluters  Incorrect- "dealt with problems of
industrial pollution meekly if at all"  
D. restricted interpretations of property rights infringements  Correct 
E. trivial issues such as littering, eyesores, and other public nuisances  Incorrect- irrelevant

3. With which of the following statements would the author be most likely to agree?

A. The growth of community responsibility for waste control exemplifies the tendency of government power to expand at the expense of individual rights.  Incorrect- the passage doesn't mention tendency of govt power to expand at expense of individual rights 
B. Although important legal precedents for waste control were established between 1880 and 1940, today's problems will require radically new approaches.  Incorrect- the passage mentions that the advancements between 1880 and 1940 established a framework  
C. While early court decisions established important precedents involving environmental abuses by industry, such equally pressing matters as disposal of municipal garbage were neglected.  Incorrect 
D. Because environmental legislation between 1880 and 1940 was in advance of its time it failed to affect society's awareness of environmental problems.  Incorrect- no mention of environmental legislation being ahead of time 
E. The historical role of U.S. courts in defining problems of hazardous waste and environmental liability provides valuable traditions for courts today  Correct-"the precedents of the
late nineteenth through the mid-twentieth century have established a framework in which the problem of hazardous waste is understood and confronted today"

4. The author mentions each of the following as pertaining to 1880-1940 America EXCEPT

A. the negligible contribution of technologists toward the problem of hazardous waste  Correct- the passage doesn't mention the negligible contribution. ", it would be grossly
inaccurate to assume that the actions of American politicians, technologists, health officials, judges, and legislators in the period 1880 -1940 have had little impact on the attempts to define environmental liability"  
B. the creation of precedents that would help future leaders address an environmental issue
C. the existence of regulatory tools to deal with industrial concerns
D. the forging of a link between the unsightly appearance and potential danger of industrial by-products
E. the incomplete recognition of the problems of hazardous waste

Hea234ven · Answer

In q-2, I am confused between answer B and D. Both statements are seen in the passage. Any explanation?

Aviral1995 · Answer

fOR QUESTION 2 IN THE First sentence of second para it is directly stated that "It is understandable that an assessment
of liability was narrowly drawn and most
(20) often restricted to a clearly identified
violator in a specific act of infringement
of the property rights of someone else."

From here we can infer option D

Skywalker18 · Answer

2. According to the passage, judicial assessments of liability in waste disposal disputes prior to World War II were usually based on

A. excessively broad definitions of legal responsibility- incorrect, excessively broad definition of legal responsibility is not discussed
B. the presence of a clear threat to the public health
C. precedents derived from well-known cases of large-scale industrial polluters - incorrect, the discussion of precedents is related to framework
D. restricted interpretations of property rights infringements
E. trivial issues such as littering, eyesores, and other public nuisances- incorrect

It is understandable that an  assessment  of liability was narrowly drawn and most often restricted to a clearly identified violator in a specific act of infringement
of the property rights of someone else.--> 
Legislation, for the most part, focused narrowly on clear threats to the public health and dealt with problems of industrial pollution meekly if at all.

Q1- How can we infer that assessment in this statement is about judicial assessment?
Is it because the next statement talks about legislation? So, D is unlikely to be a judicial assessment?

AjiteshArun  ,  GMATNinja  ,  MagooshExpert  ,  GMATGuruNY  ,  VeritasPrepBrian  ,  MartyTargetTestPrep  ,  DmitryFarber  ,  VeritasKarishma  ,  generis  other experts - please enlighten

richirish · Answer

4 mins all correct, a good 700 level GMAT worthy passage, tricky yet not too complex, happy to help if needed!

medha312 · Answer

Hi, 
For Q4: I understand why A is correct. But I don't see how E can be eliminated. The option says "the incomplete recognition of the problems of hazardous waste".

My understanding is that the author means to say that the problem of hazardous waste was not understood before 1880 but during 1880-1940 it was. Is that accurate?

Dranzer5 · Answer

Hi  medha312 ,

The first paragraph talks about the period between 1880-1940, and the last sentence of the first paragraph 
 "At the same time, these remedies were operating in an era in which the problem of hazardous waste had yet to be fully recognised."  does not mention anything about the pre-1880 years. 
All we can infer is that the problem of hazardous waste was yet to be fully recognised.
So, this evidence seems strong enough to eliminate answer choice E in question 4.

VerbalBot · Answer

Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.

It has been suggested that post-World War II concepts of environmental

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

It has been suggested that post-World War II concepts of environmental

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards