Economist: Tropicorp, which constantly seeks profitable investment opportunities, has been buying and clearing sections of tropical forest for cattle ranching, although pastures newly created there become useless for grazing after just a few years. The company has not gone into rubber tapping, even though greater profits can be made from rubber tapping, which leaves the forest intact. Thus, some environmentalists argue that <b> Tropicorp's actions do not serve even its own economic interest. </b> However, the initial investment required for a successful rubber-tapping operation is larger than that needed for a cattle ranch; there is a shortage of workers employable in rubber-tapping operations; and taxes are higher on profits from rubber tapping than on profits from cattle ranching. Consequently, <b> the environmentalists' conclusion is probably wrong. </b>
In the economist's argument, the first boldface portion states the conclusion of the economist's argument, and the second boldface portion supports that conclusion.