Wildfires can lead to issues like changes in the water treatment process or the pollution of water due to sediments, smoke and soot. That’s according to Siyu Pan, an economics assistant professor at NAU.
Her research came out of a partnership with the U.S. Forest Service. One of her studies found that communities with lower education and household income are more open to wildfire exposure.
“So my role as an economist in this whole study initiative would be trying to understand more specifically the monetary aspect of wildfires' impact on people's drinking water pollution," she said.
Pan says she is taking a closer look at what she calls environmental economics.
“There is the social cost of carbon, which is carbon emission. There's the social cost of air pollution. There's the social cost of, you know, natural disasters of various sorts," she said.
Pan says wildfires have become more frequent in recent years.
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