Cost of extraction and processing vs. price it takes to make it profitable. Is alternative energy going to be cheaper then vs using extracted hydrocarbons. Scarcity isn't about running out, it's about at what cost will people still pay for it or look for alternatives.
If it costs you $1500 in gasoline to drive 500 miles would you still do it? Or costs you $5 in electricity to drive 250 miles?
I think many people's view is that we have had cheap energy our entire lives and so did our parents, so it seems like it is everlasting.
No, scarcity is exactly about running out.
scarcity
[skair-si-tee]
noun, plural scarcities.
1.
insufficiency or shortness of supply; dearth.
2.
rarity; infrequency.
That's what would drive your $1500 tank of gas.
IF renewables become cheaper, than why would we also be facing an issue of expensive electricity. Your examples and reasoning are contradictory.
I have no problem with a move to electric cars if they become better than gas cars. (Not just "cheaper" because, as others have noted, there are more issues than just cost to operate.) I'm not opposed to alternate energy sources
per se, I'm opposed to forcing them in the absence of demand.