While I agree that many of the rare earth applications have a work-around or substitute available, this is not the case with crude oil. There is simply nothing else - wind, solar, etc., — that offers the energy rate of return that oil does. It is a large part of the economic growth we have enjoyed for decades.
Yes, we can do some combination of conservation, drilling at home, alternative sources such as nuclear, and withstand a certain level of oil price increase. At $150 a barrel oil, though, the airline industry contracts dramatically, and major lifestyle changes will be needed. There is a certain irony that the electric cars substitute a depleting energy source (oil) for a rare earth element (lithium).
In labs we create lots of novel or even common elements - it's doable, just at great cost now. In 100 years or so, should we survive and thrive, perhaps not.