Certain oil companies have been called poor corporate citizens because they have opposed government action to limit global warming by undermining scientific research that characterizes the issue as severe. However, these same oil companies have also invested millions of dollars in scientific research to address the long term effects of climate change.

Which of the following best explains the apparent discrepancy in the situation described above?

A) The oil companies only recently began investing in scientific research to address climate change issues.
B) The oil companies prefer to decide for themselves what actions to take as a result of their private research rather
than to have certain actions mandated by the government.
C) Last year, the oil companies spent less on climate change research than they had in each of the preceding five years.
D) Scientific research has not produced any definitive results that characterize global warming as a severe problem.
E) The oil companies do not believe that any scientific research related to climate change will ultimately serve their
interests.

[spoiler]OA: B[/spoiler]