Our planet is undergoing extreme and shocking changes due to humankind's footprint upon it. And, while most involved focus on one or several specific aspects of the problem (pollution, groundwater depletion, species diversity), many are so encased in their own specialties or interests that they fail to see the greater problem--that our fragmented ways of thinking and acting are failing to resolve the environmental and related political situations threatening the viability of life on this planet. We must, and can, do better. However, this will require a new way of thinking. It is in light of this that the editors of this book propose a new discipline, first suggested by the eminent political scientist John H. Herz, combining all relevant scientific disciplines with an overarching, unified, humanistic philosophy that will directly and positively influence the sustainability of life on Earth: survival research.--From publisher description.