Can you see now why I became protective of my basin? Coming to know even a small part of the earth leads to feelings of protection, as surely as bonding between a parent and child. For me, my basin is a place for communing with nature. I believe that bonding with terrain is a powerful force that can be turned toward stewardship. It means that guardianship of waste, or of the earth for that matter, cannot be entrusted to panels who have little experience or contact with their earth.

I have come to know ranchers in New Mexico and west Texas who have the spirit to guard their corner of the world. Maybe those who are still landed can show the rest how. But with entire educated populations rarely treading on soil or rock the task is daunting. The challenge is to broaden our experience with the earth, and electronic images are a poor substitute.

Finally, I hope that feelings of guardianship can find expression in the art of the future. For me, the message found in the harmonic folding and in the music of climate beneath the wasting drums at WIPP demands more sacrifice than the simple avoidance advocated by concret markers at the surface. Maybe art can help us recognize the disharmony and danger that comes from not seeing connections between Earth's creations. Maybe then, guardianship will be rooted in a praedial urge to know and protect Earth as our permanent home.

Roger, during Castile Project, Circa 1969