This is an abridged version of a 10,000+ word post which can be read on Oil Drum Europe. We hope many will take the time to read the long version. Hopefully, these excerpts will give the flavor of the full story.--Gail.

A silver mask that had belonged to a Roman cavalryman of imperial times. It was found on the site of the battle of Teutoburg, fought in September 9 a.d. This year, 2009, marks the 2000th anniversary of the battle that led to the annihilation of three Roman legions and changed forever the history of Europe. It was a tremendous shock for the Romans, who saw their mighty army destroyed by uncivilized barbarians. It was not yet the peak of the Roman Empire, but it was a first hint that something was deeply wrong with it.

This is a slide video of the presentation I asked Nate Hagens to give at the Oil Drum/ASPO Conference at Alcatraz, Italy in June 2009. It contains a concise summary of many issues related to depletion, energy supply, human behaviour and the financial system. More background material can be found in the articles by Nate Hagens linked below the fold. The presentation itself can be downloaded here: Umbrella View of Resource Depletion and Human Behaviour, PDF 148 slides, 8.7 MB.

Umbrella View of Resource Depletion & Human Behaviour from Rembrandt Koppelaar on Vimeo.