Multiple choice

It is sometimes argued that we are reaching the limits of the earths capacity to supply our energy needs with fossil fuels. In the past ten years, however, as a result of techno critical progress making it possible to extract resources from even marginal wells and mines, yields from oil and coal fields have increased tremendously. There is no reason to believe that there is a limit to the earths capacity to supply our energy needs. Which of the following statements most directly contradicts the conclusion drawn above?

  1. Even if we exhaust our supplies of fossil fuel, the earth can still be mined for uranium for nuclear fuel.

  2. The technology needed to extract fossil fuels from marginal sources is very expensive.

  3. Even given the improvements in technology, oil and coal are not renewable resources; so we will eventually exhaust our supplies of them.

  4. Most of the land under which marginal oil and coal supplies lie is more suitable to cultivation or pasturing than to production of fossil fuels.

  5. The fuels that are yielded by marginal sources tend to be high in sulphur and other undesirable elements which aggravate the air pollution problem.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

(3) The author's claim is that we have unbounded resources, and he tries to prove this by showing that we are getting better and better at extracting those resources from the ground. But that is like saying, 'I have found a way to get the last little bit of toothpaste out of the tube; therefore, the tube will never run out. (3) calls our attention to this oversight.

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