EVs

If it makes the difference between someone using a bike and not using a bike, it's still a step forward.

In a way, yea sure. I have a gut feeling that those battery's will become the next big issue once gasoline has a way lower market share.
- Battery recycling is far easier than gasoline recycling
- eBikes allow older folks and disabled folks to get out.
  You guys are truly insufferable. You hate on cars, but then hate on people who rely on eBikes.
  I guess we should stop making electronic wheelchairs, too. Quadriplegics should just sit and die.
  
  Nah you're looking for a fight just to feel good, foolish person.
  I never said anything about old folks, ya weirdo. But since you're so adamant i actually have a disability but i'm not taking no for an answer from life.
  I want to do good by our planet to the best of my ability even if it means i have a little more pain. It's not like the pain will ever stop existing so i might as well do the right thing.
  Heck an e bike would actually make my commute longer, there is no sense in getting one for myself.
  I never hated on cars either, you just made that shit up like the rest that's coming out of your mouth. If you want a car, go get it. If you need a car, go get it. If you don't need one, GO GET IT. I don't give a fuck.
  I just know like everyone else that battery's are also fucking bad. Same as gas, same as using up all of earths resources etc etc.
  
  You're ignorant if you think everyone's disability is the same.
  I had a double lung transplant. My lungs were so bad, I couldn't even walk to the bathroom. An e-bike allowed me to get out and be independent.
  But I guess since your pain was tolerable you think all disabled people can pedal a bike? Ignorant.
  
  I don't think anything ya dumbass, you're the one doing all this psycho mental gymnastics blaming me for things that never happened.
  Stop assuming, weirdo.
- Battery operated devices are all over the place, there are just more components that require a battery, even small sensors here and there may use one. The current trend is pushing for this kind of automation where more devices are practically necessary. Ebikes are a part of the deal. Besides they are the best micromobility vehicles so far.

which compared to regular bikes is another step back.

I initially assumed that too, but it turns out that e-bikes are even more efficient than regular bikes. In other words, holding the total amount of (food calories + electricity kWh) constant, an ebike rider can go farther than a regular bike rider on the same amount of energy.

I also recognize that it's easy to fall into a gatekeeping attitude of considering e-bikes as "cheating" compared to regular bikes, but us cyclists have really got to work hard to get over it because it's not helpful.

I think they called it a "step back" in terms of being worse for the environment, because of batteries, etc, while a common bike can be used for years and years without creating additional pollution.
- They literally could just support asteroid mining so we could have all of this green tech they want without the surface mining baggage.
  
  That tech is unfortunately too far off at this point to be able to supply batteries to the surface of the earth in time to meet the demand from all the new electric vehicles we're seeing.
  0G Mining isn't a solved problem either, but we have almost zero experience with controlled reentry of materials at that scale. We would need to manufacture heat shields in space in order to do it, which is a whole other can of worms.
  
  It's not too far off. NASA's Artemis program is going surprisingly well and with it we'll have access to resources on the Moon, especially metals that can be mined, and we can access near-Earth asteroids a lot more easily.
  Hell, NASA just got a sample back from an asteroid literally a couple of days ago so I think tehnologically we'll be okay. It's high time we overcame those hurdles anyhow.
  
  The issue isn't whether we can mine space rocks, or even if we can bring back materials from space, it's about doing it at scale and cost-effectively, soon enough for it to matter.
I'm pretty sure the cyclists out on the bike path appreciate when I pass them and take point for a few minutes. They have my 6'3"/192cm frame sitting tall and creating a nice wind break for them for a few, then I resume my full speed.

I see it as a bridge between cars and bikes, and both have a time and place. My area is pretty flat and I do it partly for the health benefits so I won't get an e bike. But if you have tons of hills, want to haul cargo or have a longer commute I can see it. It can be a "gateway drug" for people that wouldn't otherwise buy a bike.

My concern with e anything are the tons of batteries that will need to be properly disposed of in the coming years and how many can't or won't be.