AIM GMAT wrote:However a minimal role in causing air pollution, trash pollutes both land and sea, creates problems in wildlife habitats, and harms endangered species


A. However
B. With
C. Being
D. Therefore accounting for
E . Despite playing

OA E

1. However and therefore are conjunctive adverbs. These adverbs are used in the following cases:

IC+ Semicolon + Conjunctive Adverb + COMMA + IC.

Example:

I was watching TV; however, they were reading.

If we use "however", we usually use it after IC.

--> This eliminates A and D.

2. With:

With 770 GMAT score, Perfect got admission in Yale.

This means that Perfect possesses the 770 GMAT score.

Apply the same thing in this case.

Trash possesses the minimal role. It does not make sense. Eliminate B.

3. Being:

Being is correct only in the following two cases:

3.1. When we make passive of progressive tenses:

example:
Active: I was playing football.
Passive: Football was being played by me.

3.2. When we use being as GERUND:

example:

Being an attentive listener means you are a good student.
Being heavily committed to your work means you are a good worker.

When BEING is NOT correct:

If we see the being is used in the apposition:

MS Dhoni, being the Indian cricket captain, has made fity.

Revised: MS Dhoni, the Indian cricket captain, has made fifty.

See BEING is not correct in appositive.

No one of the correct usage of BEING is found in the option C; therefore, we can eliminate C.

Answer is thus E.

Thanks.

kindly expand 'IC' - gmat_perfect

Here we have the phrases "minimal role" and "trash pollutes..creates problems...harms..." which tells us we'll need a Contrast word to open the sentence. (B), (C), and (D) do not provide a contrast, so we can quickly eliminate them.

Between (A) and (E), [spoiler](E)[/spoiler] is the better choice since "However a minimal role..." is an awkward construction. A better way to use "however" here would be: However minimal its role....