Following Nightblade354 advise to push my CR skills beyond the limits, I'll post an extensive analysis of this questions, explaining the initial thoughts on the stimulus and the reasons why I reject four options and choose one as the winner
. I beieve this is one of the best ways to improve in CR. Don't just do questions, but try to extract as much as possible from each of them. I think doing blind review help a lot in doing so (more about blind review here:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/mod-nightbla ... 95316.html)
Here is the stimulus:
Because dried peat moss, which is derived from sphagnum moss, contains no chemical additives and is a renewable resource, many gardeners use large amounts of it as a soil conditioner in the belief that the practice is environmentally sound. They are mistaken. The millions of acres of sphagnum moss in the world contribute more oxygen to the atmosphere than do all of the world's rain forests combined, and the garden soil industry is depleting these areas much faster than they can renew themselves.
Initial thoughts: Clearly, the argument states that an action is not environmentally sound if it reduces a vital resource (in this case, oxygen being released to the atmosphere). This would be the general principle (whether we talk about oxygen or about another vital resource)
Let's go into the answers:
(A) Using a product may be environmentally unsound even if the product is a renewable resource and contains no chemical additive.
It can be, but not always, so it is not a GENERAL principle.
OUT(B) A practice is not environmentally sound if it significantly reduces the amount of oxygen entering the atmosphere
This falls within my initial thoughts (in this case talks about oxygen specifically).
KEEP(C) A practice is environmentally sound if it helps to protect rain forests that contribute large amounts of oxygen to the atmosphere.
It does not need to be the case to protect rain forests!
OUT(D) If the environmental benefits of a practice outweigh the environmental costs, that practice can be legitimately considered environmentally sound.
Environmental cost, the argument does not mention anything about this.
OUT(E) If the practices of an industry threaten a vital resource, those practices should be banned.
Banned? The argument never mentions it.
OUTOPTION B