"but the reality is
EVs require a lot of materials
and industry
and have many environmental challenges
yet are held up as saviours of the environment"
EV's are far better for the environment throughout their whole life (including recycling the battery), and don't incur all the enviromental costs of fuel refining and transport (oil up, oil transported, oil refined, fuel transported (ships, trucks, cars... all polluting)).
https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/sciencecommunication/2019/10/27/are-electric-cars-greener-lets-crunch-the-numbers/
https://news.energysage.com/evs-vs-ices-full-lifecycle-environmental-impact-analysis/
