Anti-car folks are the same as anti-meat folks. Too busy being right to notice that even if they’re right, the rest of the world isn’t going to agree with them. So they shit on any idea for improvement that isn’t complete abstinence.
People in general aren’t going to give up cars anytime soon, just like people aren’t going to give up meat. It’d be great if everyone did, but that’s a pipedream if you think that could happen in at least the next decade or two. So maybe efforts to reduce the impact of those kinds of things aren’t necessarily wasted.