as drivers of decision making, both in the climate arena and more generally. Formal decision tools may be used to illuminate choices, but they may also be used to validate strategies that have already been decided upon on other grounds. Resources that support decision making are myriad and varied, ranging from sophisticated computer simulations, to scenarios of climate futures presented in the form of GIS visualizations, to films and documentaries, and to less elaborate materials that merely inform decision makers about what measures their counterparts have decided to undertake. Decision makers themselves determine which decision support resources are most relevant in the context of the dilemmas they face, and for that reason all efforts to provide such resources must begin with an understanding of decision maker needs.

Recommendation 5:

1. The federal government should support research and the development and diffusion of decision support tools and include clear guidance as to their uses and limitations for different types and scales of decision making about climate change.

2. The federal government should support training for researchers on how to communicate climate change information and uncertainties to a variety of audiences using a broad range of methods and media.