Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument.
1.The following appeared in a newsletter distributed at a recent political rally.
Over the past year, the Consolidated1 Copper2 Company has purchased over one million square miles of land in the tropical nation of West Fredonia. Mining copper on this land will inevitably3 result in pollution and environmental disaster, since West Fredonia is home to several endangered animal species. But such disaster can be prevented if consumers simply refuse to purchase products that are made with CCC's copper until the company abandons its mining plans.
2.The article entitled 'Eating Iron' in last month's issue of Eating for Health reported that a recent study found a correlation4 between high levels of iron in the diet and an increased risk of heart disease. Further, it is well established that there is a link between large amounts of red meat in the diet and heart disease, and red meat is high in iron. On the basis of the study and the well-established link between red meat and heart disease, we can conclude that the correlation between high iron levels and heart disease, then, is most probably a function of the correlation between red meat and heart disease. The following appeared as a letter to the editor of a national newspaper.
3.Your recent article on corporate5 downsizing in the United States is misleading. The article gives the mistaken impression that many competent workers who lost jobs as a result of downsizing face serious economic hardship, often for years, before finding other suitable employment. But this impression is contradicted by a recent report on the United States economy, which found that since 1992 far more jobs have been created than have been eliminated. The report also demonstrates that many of those who lost their jobs have found new employment. Two-thirds of the newly created jobs have been in industries that tend to pay above-average wages, and the vast majority of these jobs are full-time6.
Downsizing is the process in which corporations deliberately7 reduce the number of their employees.
4.According to a poll of 200 charitable organizations, donations of money to nonprofit groups increased by nearly 25 percent last year, though not all charities gained equally. Religious groups gained the most , followed by environmental groups , whereas educational institutions experienced only a very small increase in donations . This poll indicates that more people are willing and able to give money to charities but that funding for education is not a priority for most people. These differences in donation rates must result from the perception that educational institutions are less in need of donations than are other kinds of institutions.
