You and your learning coach decide to attend the town meeting. During the meeting, town leaders allow a set time for brainstorming design solutions that would limit the negative environmental impact if the shopping center is allowed.

Question

Which of the following possible solutions would do the LEAST to help protect the existing wetlands in the proposed construction site?

allowing the construction to continue as requested by the builder, but talking about expanding other wetlands in the future

replanting native trees in the area that will be affected by construction

building a smaller shopping center so it does not take up as much wetland area

renovating an existing vacant mall and using recycled materials for the renovations (instead of building a new shopping center)

Answer 1

The solution that would do the LEAST to help protect the existing wetlands in the proposed construction site is:

allowing the construction to continue as requested by the builder, but talking about expanding other wetlands in the future.

This option does not actively address the immediate destruction of the existing wetlands and allows for the negative impact to occur without providing a concrete solution to mitigate that impact. The other options involve direct actions that either reduce the wetland area affected by construction or rehabilitate the area, making them more effective in protecting the environment.