Because dried peat moss, which is derived from sphagnum moss, contains no chemical additives and is a renewable resou...

shunhe on July 6, 2020

Hi @kbernard,

Thanks for the question! So let’s go over the stimulus real quick. We’re told that gardeners think using dried peat moss is environmentally sound as a soil conditioner. But, argues the stimulus, they’re wrong. Why? Because sphagnum moss (which you need to make peat moss) contributes a bunch of oxygen, and so the garden soil industry is getting rid of sphagnum moss (to make peat moss).

OK, now we’re asked for a principle that, if true, will help to justify the argument’s reasoning. In other words, this is a strengthen with sufficient premise question. We need an answer choice that, when assumed, will let us conclude for sure that the gardeners’ belief is mistaken, and that using peat moss is environmentally unsound. Let’s take a look at (A). It tells us that using a product may be environmentally unsound even if the products is a renewable resource and contains no chemical additive. The problem with (A) is that it is way too weak to guarantee the conclusion. The product “may be” environmentally unsound? That doesn’t help us get to the conclusion; it just tells us that the author might be right, which isn’t enough.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any other questions that you might have.