Here’s a great source for the next time you run into an apocalyptic, Doomsday-predicting naysayer: a detailed summary of the famous bet between Julian Simon and Paul Erlich.
Punch line: prices reflect scarcity. Human creativity and ingeneuity, expressed through technological change, can push back the bounds of scarcity, even in resources that are technically nonrenewable.
This is why the right answer to “when will we run out of oil?” is … NEVER! At least not as long as we have world markets for it …