That other poster is using a disingenuous debate tactic called "whataboutism". Basically shifting the focus from what's being criticised (AI resource consumption) to something else (other industries).
Your comparison with evangelists is spot on. In my teen years I used to debate with creationists quite a bit; they were always
oversimplifying complex matters
showing blatant lack of reading comprehension, and distorting/lying what others say
vomiting certainty on things that they assumed, and re-eating their own vomit
showing complete inability to take context into account when interpreting what others say
chain-gunning fallacies
"I'm not religious, but..."
always to back up something as idiotic as "the world is 6kyo! Evolution is a lie!".
Does it ring any bell for people who discuss with AI evangelists? For me, all of them.
(Sorry bolexforsoup for the tone - it is not geared towards you.)