Integrated Studies of Problems in Managing Research and Human Responses to Global Climate Change

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Integrated studies of issues in managing research and human responses to global climate change will be done. While the elements of the work interact, for expository and administrative convenience, the project is divided into two broad activities: An integrated assessment, focusing particularly on uncertainty, and studies of public understanding and communication. While global climate change issues are important in their own right, they are prototypical of a class of issues in science, technology, and public policy in which: 1) there are a significant number of different elements whose interactions cannot safely be ignored in planning research, performing policy analysis, or formulating policy responses; 2) uncertainty involving these elements and their interactions is large and unlikely to be fully resolved before potential impacts would be felt and policy choices will have to be made; and 3) public understanding of these scientific and technical issues is of central importance and improved risk communication is essential to better public policy.