(E) The amount of fossil fuel used to generate the electricity needed to power the new technologies is less than the amount that would have been used to power the older technologies.化石燃料 转化成电,用电驱动新科技 的化石燃料的用量 比 直接用化石燃料 驱动旧科技的 要少。
新科技由电驱动,旧科技用化石燃料驱动。要比较他们节能情况。不能直接比 新旧科技用的 化石燃料的量或者用电量,于是就把化石燃料先转化成 电再来 比较。
引用NN
The conclusion of this argument focus on the fossil fuels used by "these industries", which refers to the industries that "use" the new machines rather than those that "manufacture" the new machines.
The answer B discuss industries that "manufacture" the new machines and should be considered irrelevant choice.
OG:IT DOES NOT MATTER how much fossil fuel was used to manufacture the older technologies originally.
That has no bearing on whether more ff would have been expended as a result of the continued operation of the industries if the partial switch to newer technologies had not occurred.