One man’s concern for the environment has sparked him into action. Smith resident Harlan Light is moving to re-activate the Smith Environmental Association (SEA). He says it was once a potent body that worked closely with government agencies to effect change and promote sustainability.
“Years ago, the SEA was very active and responsible,” says Light. “We had a good relationship with the (Alberta Energy and Utilities Board). We had real sustainable planning for gas extraction, and consolidation of processing plants. We were really quite effective.”
Then Light left the Smith area for a decade and the SEA ceased operations, although the former did not necessarily cause the latter. The association did effectively close its doors but remained on the list of environmental action committees.
“Now, we’re going to resurrect,” Light says. “All we need to do is have our status reactivated by the government. There’s still money in the bank accounts and all the paperwork has been filed.”
To get things going, Light organized a barbeque at the Smith Athabasca bridge as part of a SEA membership drive. The affair coincided with another environmentally motivated event. Don Van Hout is travelling the length of the Athabasca River by canoe. He started at the glacial headwaters of Jasper and passed through Smith on his way to Fort Chipewyan. He is studying the effects of poor water quality on the riverbanks and was scheduled to speak at the barbeque. He was behind schedule and it’s unknown if he spoke to the group.
“He’s been down the river once before but not in quite this manner,” says Light. “On his first trip he said he could smell the tar sands 50 miles away. He could see how the water quality got poorer and poorer. He is trying to shed light on the preciousness of this resource.”
The resource is water. According to Light, evidence is mounting that local lakes and rivers are unhealthier now than ever before. He says the Athabasca River is very sick from wood, oil, and gas processing facilities polluting it. He goes on to say that while we are enjoying a lot of rain this year, another drought could be disastrous.
“As water levels fall, the levels of toxins increase and peoples’ water quality will suffer greatly. We have to be concerned about this. In the last years of my farming (during drought-like conditions), to have water was very important because it was getting scarce. I would bring it up in a 500-gallon wagon and carefully disperse this water on my plants. I had to act that way because it was hard to get water.”
“The thrust of all this for me is changing people’s consciousness of water. We can’t just recklessly use it. It is a precious resource and our lifeblood and we’re in danger of losing that lifeblood.”
Light admits that it probably won’t be easy to change everyone’s mind. The public’s water concerns are remote when the rivers are high like they are this year but through public awareness, he hopes to chip away at that perception. If not for this generation, then for ones that follow.
“One of the ideas that needs to get out there is that if we pull together and act locally, we can do things. We’re so used to being told what to do and what’s going to happen that we have no power to effect change. But we have that power and we need to take hold of it to protect this world for future generations. It’s no joke. Try to imagine how our children and grandchildren are going to be living. The quality of their life is already in trouble. It’s our responsibility to look after future generations. They need clean water and sustainable development.”
In the best-case scenario, the SEA will do more than chip away at public attitudes toward environmental conservation. It’s what he calls a paradigmatic shift.
“I know what people think when they look at me – long hair, hippie looking dude – but I am not a wild-eyed individual. I have been a businessman, a teacher, a farmer, and a politician. I’m talking about more than insulating a little more here and there or recycling our papers. That’s fine and good, but we all need to make a paradigmatic shift. If we don’t, our children and their children will be living in a bleak world.”
To learn more about the revitalization of the Smith Environmental Association, call Harlan Light at 829-2251.

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