The earth's resources are being depleted much too fast. To correct thi

The premise is talking about 'depletion' whereas the conclusion is talking about 'consumption'. We have to find the answer which logically fills this gap. Choice 'E' fits the best.

Conclusion - To correct this, the United States must keep its resource consumption at present levels for many years to come.

Assumption - taking a positive step towards consumption will save future. Only E matches.

The argument above depends on which of the following assumptions?

(A) Per capita resource consumption in the United States is at an all-time high. Wrong because Already mentioned in a passage in an implicit manner
(B) The United States wastes resources. Out of scope
(C) The United States uses more resources than any other country. Out of scope
(D) The United States imports most of the resources it uses. Out of scope
(E) Curbing U.S. resource consumption will significantly retard world resource depletion. Correct

E Because it is given in the premise that US should ensure that current consumption level is not increasing for many years in the future and also the world resources are depleting. That clearly indicates that US consumption is the major reason for the depletion. E is exactly that .