Let me remark on your links:
The environmental impact of mining rare earth minerals is more related to mining practices than the fact that they are rare earth minerals. Batteries increasingly needs less of it. E.g. Tesla doesn't use Cobalt anymore.
Sure I agree that we need to rethink transportation. I am all onboard. If you read my medium stories you would have known I am a big advocate of biking and walk friendly cities: https://erik-engheim.medium.com/barren-american-suburbs-a8749bd56f1
However as remarked before, reducing car usage isn't enough. Even if we get car usage down to half, that is still too much. Cars must be electric. That is the only way.
Your space tourism article is just grasping for straws, eagerly googling something to complain about. You are just digging up something you think can make Elon Musk look bad without actually looking at any of the details.
1. This talks mainly about rocket engines using solid fuel which cause a lot of soot particules in the athmosphere. Elon Musk doesn't build any rockets like that.
2. The "Mars rocket" you complain so much about is fueled with Methane, which burns cleanly without generating any sooth. And the plan is to use green methan, created from green hydrogen (electrolysis of water with solar or wind power).
Just to be clear, even if I am "defending" Elon Musk here, I don't share most of his visions. I don't believe transportation will be fixed with tunnels. I beleive in walkable cities where dependence on cars is reduced.
I don't really believe in a new civilization built on Mars, but I see the value in cheap access to space.
And it is not like I fawn for any billionaire. I am social democrat. I like to see a more equal society, more taxation of the rich. Stronger rights for workers.
But these believes does not oblige me to hate and tear down anyone who is a billionaire. I would rather spend my energy critizing the Koch brothers, Rupert Murdoch, Jeff Bezos etc. Murdoch for destroying democracy. Koch brothers for pushing coal and climate denial. Bezos for giving hundreds of thousands of people shitty work conditions, while smashing unions.
I don't judge people by how may billions they have or how dorky their tweets are, but by their actions and aspirations.
