TASK DEFINITION: You are given a background paragraph that describes one or more causal or qualitative relationships such as a relationship in economics or a scientific law and a story that makes use of the concepts or the relationship described in the provided paragraph. You are also given a question about the story that requires an understanding of the relationship described in the background paragraph and the story. You need to come up with an answer to the given question; the answer will be a span from either the question or the story. In order to correctly answer the given question, you need to understand the relationship mentioned in the background paragraph and should be able to use it to understand that in the story. Your answer can not consist of any word that is not mentioned in any of these: the background paragraph, the story, or the question. You can directly copy and paste a span from the story or the question while answering the given question.
PROBLEM: Background Paragraph: In the U.S., the majority of electricity is produced by burning coal or other fossil fuels. This causes air pollution that harms the health of living things. The air pollution also causes acid rain and contributes to global warming. In addition, fossil fuels are nonrenewable resources, so if we keep using them, they will eventually run out. The main advantage of nuclear energy is that it doesn't release air pollution or cause the other environmental problems associated with the burning of fossil fuels. On the other other hand, radioactive elements are nonrenewable like fossil fuels and could eventually be used up.
Story: Thorn county used fossil fuels for their energy needs, while Plant county used nuclear power. They both polluted the environment in different ways.
Question: Which county released more air pollution?

SOLUTION: Thorn.

PROBLEM: Background Paragraph: Alpine tundra occurs at high enough altitude at any latitude. Portions of montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregions worldwide include alpine tundra. Large regions of alpine tundra occur in the North American Cordillera, the Alps and Pyrenees of Europe, the Himalaya and Karakoram of Asia, the Andes of South America, and the Eastern Rift mountains of Africa.Alpine tundra occupies high-mountain summits, slopes, and ridges above timberline. Aspect plays a role as well; the treeline often occurs at higher elevations on warmer equator-facing slopes. Because the alpine zone is present only on mountains, much of the landscape is rugged and broken, with rocky, snowcapped peaks, cliffs, and talus slopes, but also contains areas of gently rolling to almost flat topography.Averaging over many locations and local microclimates, the treeline rises 75 metres (245 ft) when moving 1 degree south from 70 to 50N, and 130 metres (430 ft) per degree from 50 to 30N. Between 30N and 20S, the treeline is roughly constant, between 3,500 and 4,000 metres (11,500 and 13,100 ft).
Story: Pete and Laura were learning about Earth's vegetation. Laura read about savannas and subtropical vegetation, while Pete read about alpine tundras.
Question: Which person read more about montane grasslands?

SOLUTION: Pete.

PROBLEM: Background Paragraph: Ecologically, the expansion of drainage systems has had tremendous negative effects. Hundreds of thousands of wetland species experienced significant population declines as their habitat was increasingly fragmented and destroyed. Although market hunting within the Central Flyway was a contributing factor in the decline of many waterfowl species' numbers in the early decades of the twentieth century, loss of breeding habitat to agricultural expansion is certainly the most significant. Early maps of midwestern states depict many lakes and marshes that are either nonexistent or significantly reduced in area today. Channelization, a related process of concentrating and facilitating the flow of water from agricultural areas, also contributed to this degradation.
Story: Seeing wildlife in wetland areas has been all the rage lately, and Steve wanted to take his family on a trip to some wetlands. He had the option of two different wetland areas to visit. Timmons Wetlands, that has seen a population boom of sorts because of increased agriculture in the area, and Laslo Wetlands that has been somewhat removed from agricultural expansion. They want to make sure to see the most wildlife while on their trip.
Question: What wetlands should Steve take his family to have the best chance to see wildlife?

SOLUTION:
Laslo Wetlands.