The majority of Europe’s raw materials are imported. Consider the relationship between that fact and the air and water pollution
in Europe today. What best explains this relationship? A. Europe imports large amounts of raw materials for its manufacturing industry, and industrialization without regulation has resulted in air and water pollution. B. Europe requires large amounts of raw materials to replace those which have been depleted, and the mining and lumbering of Europe’s raw materials led to air and water pollution. C. The region is struggling with air and water pollution caused by careless farming practices. D. The Industrial Revolution is largely to blame for the air and water pollution in Europe today.
Answer: The right answer is the A) Europe imports large amounts of raw materials for its manufacturing industry, and industrialization without regulation has resulted in air and water pollution.
Explanation: Just to elaborate a little on the answer, it can be added that since they are asking you to consider the relationship between the fact that the majority of Europe’s raw materials are imported and the air and water pollution in Europe today, options C and D should be discarded, since they do not explain that relationship—option C links the pollution to careless farming practices and option D links the pollution to the Industrial Revolution. which dates back to the 18th century. Option B connects the two events—Europe requires raw materials because it does not have them anymore, and pollution has been caused by the depletion of those materiales—but the option that best explains the relationship is the A. Industry is indeed a main source of pollution in Europe, although less pollutants have been released to the air and to the water in the last years. Europe imports a large amount of raw materials for its manufacturing industry, and a limited regulation has led to water and air pollution caused by industrial practices.
