Uncertainty and Policy.

Environmental policies should be based on sound science. However, even the most sound science can have a large degree of associated uncertainty. For example, even the most stringent water quality sampling regimes result in +/- 30% uncertainty in the value for contaminant loadings. Climate and water quality modeling efforts can have +/- 100% or more uncertainty associated with them. When environmental policies can cost consumers or tax payers hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars, how should the scientific community convey our uncertainty to policy makers to ensure sound and fiscally responsible policies result. This presentation will serve as an introduction into this topical session, which will focus on uncertainty in many areas of uncertainty in the environmental sciences.