Can't believe the OA

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Can't believe the OA

by crimson2283 » Wed Feb 09, 2011 5:39 am
Pedro: Unlike cloth diapers, disposable diapers are a threat to the environment. Sixteen billion disposable diapers are discarded annually, filling up landfills at an alarming rate. So people must stop buying disposable diapers and use cloth diapers.
Maria: But you forget that cloth diapers must be washed in hot water, which requires energy. Moreover, the resulting wastewater pollutes our rivers. When families use diaper services, diapers must be delivered by fuel-burning trucks that pollute the air and add to traffic congestion.

Maria objects to Pedro's argument by
(A) claiming that Pedro overstates the negative evidence about disposable diapers in the course of his argument in favour of cloth diapers.
(B) indicating that Pedro draws a hasty conclusion, based on inadequate evidence about cloth diapers.
(C) pointing out that there is an ambiguous use of the word "disposable" in Pedro's argument
(D) demonstrating that cloth diapers are a far more serious threat to the environment than disposable diapers are
(E) suggesting that the economic advantages of cloth diapers outweigh whatever environmental damage they may cause

OA is B. I chose D. Any thoughts?
Source: — Critical Reasoning |

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by pesfunk » Wed Feb 09, 2011 6:51 am
Even I chose D.

Here is the reasoning for B:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/cr-cloth-diapers-61610.html

The text says, "BUT YOU FORGET", suggesting a hasty solution.
crimson2283 wrote:Pedro: Unlike cloth diapers, disposable diapers are a threat to the environment. Sixteen billion disposable diapers are discarded annually, filling up landfills at an alarming rate. So people must stop buying disposable diapers and use cloth diapers.
Maria: But you forget that cloth diapers must be washed in hot water, which requires energy. Moreover, the resulting wastewater pollutes our rivers. When families use diaper services, diapers must be delivered by fuel-burning trucks that pollute the air and add to traffic congestion.

Maria objects to Pedro's argument by
(A) claiming that Pedro overstates the negative evidence about disposable diapers in the course of his argument in favour of cloth diapers.
(B) indicating that Pedro draws a hasty conclusion, based on inadequate evidence about cloth diapers.
(C) pointing out that there is an ambiguous use of the word "disposable" in Pedro's argument
(D) demonstrating that cloth diapers are a far more serious threat to the environment than disposable diapers are
(E) suggesting that the economic advantages of cloth diapers outweigh whatever environmental damage they may cause

OA is B. I chose D. Any thoughts?

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by mundasingh123 » Wed Feb 09, 2011 7:20 am
Marian nowhere comments on disposable diapers. His comments are restricted to Cloth diapers > He doesnt compare them
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by fitzgerald23 » Wed Feb 09, 2011 7:45 am
I actually thought that this was a pretty straight forward question.

Basically all that is being said is:

Pedro: Disposable diapers fill up landfills and thus people should not use them and buy cloth instead
Maria: There are alot of negatives to cloth diapers too

A. Incorrect. Maria never questions the negatives of disposable diapers in her statement

B. Correct. She is pointing out that Pedro has not considered any evidence about the negative impacts of cloth diapers. Essentially Pedros argument is A is bad, so B must be good. Maris is saying that you have to actually consider what B does before you can claim it is good. Just because A is bad does not mean that B is not as bad or worse.

C. Incorrect. Clearly not the case.

D. Incorrect. The passage never gets into what is or is not more serious. Disposable diapers fill up landfills. Cloth requires energy and may also cause more pollution. She never gives you any reason that these are worse, just that they must be considered before making the conclusion.

E. Incorrect. The never talk about money.