I think both are making a valid point here. The first is making a point about understanding logistics and proportion of things and not falling prey to “big number = bad”, which could lead to anti-industrial thinking if taken to an extreme (not to be confused with anti-capitalist). The second is making a point about priorities; that some things are much more easily justified as consuming a lot of resources since they are so vital to staying alive and that if you have to choose, you should probably be choosing the necessity first.

But AI will figure out a way for us to survive without food or water. Checkmate environmentalists!