Commentator: Although the present freshwater supply is adequate for today's patterns of water use, the human populat...

Victoria on August 8, 2019

Hi @Julie-V,

Let's start by going through the passage.

The commentator is arguing that "restrictions on water use will be necessary to meet the freshwater needs of humankind in the not-too-distant future."

Why? We know that "the present freshwater supply is adequate for today's patterns of water use," but, "the human population will increase substantially over the next few decades, drastically increasing the need for freshwater."

Before we address the answer choices, what are the flaws in this argument? Overall, the commentator is arguing that it will be necessary to place restrictions on freshwater use because the increase in human population will also increase the need for freshwater.

There are two main issues with this. First, the commentator is assuming that restrictions on freshwater use are the only way to meet the freshwater needs of humankind in the future. Second, the commentator is assuming that there will be no concurrent increase in freshwater resources.

We can see that the second flaw in the argument is directly restated by answer choice C, making it the correct answer.

Answer choice A is irrelevant to the argument.

Answer choice B does not address either of the argument's flaws.

Answer choice D is too specific. There are other methods to increase the quantity of freshwater available outside of synthesizing water.

Answer choice E is not broad enough. Just because no past water conservation measures increased supply there is no reason why future conservation measures may not be successful.

Hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any further questions.