Critical Reasoning

More and more companies have begun to consume less energy by making themselves more efficient. Over time, these efforts could place the United States at the forefront of an emerging global market for cleaner technologies. Such efforts are also essential to tackling the two big energy-related issues of the age: global warming and the dependence on precarious supplies of oil. The federal government should encourage these efforts by providing the necessary incentives, whether as loans, direct grants or targeted tax breaks.

Which of the following, if true, provides the most effective support for the argument?

A. On the average, Canadian companies are more energy efficient than those in the United States.
B. Experts believe that energy efficiency could lower the energy use of the United States to the level of 1995.
C. In the past, government incentives have made advances in energy conservation feasible, especially in the auto industry.
D. The dependence on foreign oil is a greater problem in the present than global warming.
E. The market for cleaner technologies is currently relatively small because of the infrastructure requirements.

Why isn't it Option E?

OA C

EconomistGMATTutor wrote:The conclusion: The federal government should encourage companies to consume less energy by providing the necessary incentives.
The evidence: These efforts could place the United States at the forefront of an emerging global market for cleaner technologies and could help with the issues of global warming and the dependence on precarious supplies of oil.

Assumption: The government incentives will be effective.

Choice C supports the conclusion by showing that government incentives have made advances in energy conservation possible before. The conclusion, like this choice, is about using less ( conserving) energy.

You've asked about Choice E. How does this strengthen the conclusion? Knowing that the market for clean technologies is small does not help us determine whether the government incentives are a good idea. Perhaps the infrastructure requirements mentioned in this choice will make the government incentives ineffective. Perhaps the market will always be small. This choice does not really deal with the key terms of the argument, including government incentives.

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