Wanderings And Ponderings

  There is something quietly unsettling about wildfire smoke. It does not arrive with the urgency of flames or the visibility of a burned landscape. It drifts in, settles across places that are otherwise untouched, and lingers just long enough to change how people experience the outdoors. You can still go. Trails are still open. Campgrounds are still there. But something is off. The air feels heavier, the views are muted, and the experience is not quite what it was supposed to be.   That subtle disruption is what makes the article by Gellman, Walls, and Wibbenmeyer (2025), Welfare Losses from Wildfire Smoke: Evidence from Daily Outdoor Recreation Data, so compelling (full citation available . It takes something that is often treated as secondary to wildfire itself and brings it into focus. The question they ask is simple on the surface but carries a lot of weight underneath it. What is the cost of wildfire smoke to people who are trying to spend time outdoors?   L...