Happy to help. Let's take a look at the stimulus first.
The stimulus tells us that all residents of Gradara support legislation that requires hazardous wastes to be disposed of using modern high-temperature incinerators. However, none of these residents wants these incinerators to be built where they live.
The question asks, "Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain the residents’ simultaneously holding both of the positions ascribed to them?"
We're looking for something that would resolve this paradox. Perhaps the residents are fine with these incinerators being built as long as they're really far away from their homes. Maybe they're worried that if the incinerators are too close to their homes, they'll be inhaling the bad fumes from them. Think about general zoning laws in our lives. They're there for a reason. Maybe you'd like there to be nightclubs that close at 6 a.m., but maybe you don't want these nightclubs right next to your house because you want to get a good night's rest every night.
(A) says, "High temperature incineration minimizes the overall risk to the human population of the country from the wastes being disposed of, but it concentrates the remaining risk in a small number of incineration sites."
If (A) were true, this explains why the residents could both support the legislation requiring the use of the modern incinerators while also opposing having them build in their neighborhoods. The people like the idea that it lowers the overall risk posed to the population, but at the same time, none of these people want to be stuck having an incinerator near their house because that is where the risk is the most concentrated. This resolves the paradox, and it's our correct answer.
Does this make sense? Let us know if you have any more questions!
Julie-VAugust 12, 2019
Is it okay for paradox answers to contain language such as "small" and "some"? For this answer choice, it doesn't sound as if it's a strong candidate because of the wording, but is the possibility of an explanation enough to choose an answer for these question types?
RaviAugust 12, 2019
@Julie-V, yes, the possibility of an expalantion is enough to choose an answer for these question types. As you see with this question, the wording isn't extremely strong, but it's still the correct answer choice and the only answer of the five that is even viable. Don't worry too much abou soft wording; rather, instead spend your energy focusing on whether or not the particular answer choice you're looking at helps to resolve the paradox, even if its wording isn't super strong.
Hope this helps. Let us know if you have any other questions!
