First, I want to say, before anyone starts jumping on me, I do my part by recycling. That said, I believe there are some nay-sayers who are trying to panic the people. It needs to be understood that oil is not like trees that need human beings to replace what we take from the earth. However, oil is something that takes a very long for the earth to replace what we take. Oil is considered a fossil fuel.
There are some sources which say "fossil fuels cannot be replaced." Other says, "fossil fuels come from animals and plants that lived 300 million years ago." It depends on which one is believed.
If a person believes the former, we are doomed. However, if the latter is believed, which I think makes more sense, consumers have to slow down on what is consumed from the earth so the replacement can be balanced out.
Equally, most fossil fuels, while in the "crust" of the earth, are very far beneath the surface. This means to get to the oil, humans will have to dig deeper and deeper.
As for your actual question, it doesn't matter how much we use of the oil as plants and animals are always dying, which is what will eventually create oil in the future. However, we must be aware that our use, especially overuse, of oil could cause humans to do extensive damage to the surface of the earth in an effort to get to the oil.
As an example of what I'm saying, I will offer coal mining. Many years ago, coal was mined by digging shafts into the earth, extracting the coal at great risk to the miners. Then, when the coal mine was exhausted, the mine shaft could be left and would cave in over a period of time. I know this for a fact because of where I grew up.
When costs became what the mine owners considered prohibitive, they had to find cheaper, faster ways to get the coal. That's when strip mining became popular. This worked great until people realized one day, to their horror because the events were affecting their homes, the mining companies would do as they had done with the empty shafts -- leave the damage unattended. Not only was the result of this kind of mining an eye-soar, without trees and other vegetation to hold the soil in place, a good rain could cause a whole mountain of dirt to fall.
I'd like to say this is something new that humans are facing with the oil shortage, but that's just NOT true. Mankind has done this kind of thing over and over and over. We take what we want and don't worry about the consequences until it's either too late or we're racing against a clock to stop some great disaster.
I know this is a little long winded, but the situaiton facing the United States and other countries in this world is real. It's not insurmountable. Oil is not going to run out tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, or in thirty years. We just have to wake up and face the fact that humans cannot keep destroying this planet without consequences.
Merry Meet and Merry Bide
Cheryl