LSAT 109, Section 2, RC Passage 3, CO2

RC Passage 3 Explanation

This is an explanation for passage 3 of LSAT preptest 33, the December 2000 LSAT. This passage is about the expected increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide and how it will affect plant growth.

This section has paragraph summaries and an analysis of the passage, links to the explanations for the questions are below.

Paragraph Summaries

1. CO2 in the atmosphere is expected to increase quite a bit by 2100. But some say it will boost plant growth. More plants will slow CO2 growth. We’ll also have more agriculture.
2. Some plants will grow more. But some plants will do better than others. For example, weeds may do better than crops.
3. Plant growth would remove some CO2. But higher temperatures would also likely release CO2 from the permafrost. (So CO2 growth will likely accelerate, rather than decrease.)

Analysis

The passage is presented as a fairly neutrally worded scientific argument. There is no explicit conclusion given, but we can read between the lines: the experts in the first paragraph are wrong. We will likely see more CO2 than they predict. And worse, many important ecosystems will be disrupted, along with agriculture.