Dude doesn't mention reduced greenhouse gas emissions. If an ebike gets someone out of a car, and reduces their overall emissions, it's a win IMO.
Anecdotally, I've seen a bunch of people in my small town riding ebikes and escooters. I think that's either replacing a car or reducing car trips, which is great.
It's a comparison between a regular bike vs ebike though, so the green house gas emission is obviously not mentioned because ebike is higher than regular bike in the process of manufacturing.
Yeah, the metric used (energy output) is a strange way to decide if e-bikes are "worth it" compared to an analogue bike.
Some people will never touch a regular bike, for one reason or another. But they'll happily get on their e-bike at any chance they get.
If an e-bike motivates someone to not drive, or to be more active, or to explore their community, or to improve their mental health... or all of the above... then, hell yeah, it's worth it!