I'm not even convinced that there will be a "marginal increase in mining required for battery production," nor that there will be an associated increase in localized environmental damage.

Lithium mines produce localized environmental damage, _but so does fossil fuel extraction_. Think about environmental damage from mountaintop removal coal mining, fracking, offshore oil spills, etc.

With fossil fuels, you get localized environmental damage, _plus_ climate change.

With lithium, you get localized environmental damage, but you hopefully support a transition to renewables.