I saw this cool article about a technique used in the amazon; instead of slash-and-burn, one grows a certain crop like corn then burns it down into charcoal. That is then buried underground, and creates a more fertile topsoil. I tried in vain to go back to alternet or wherever I saw the article, maybe even grist.org, but I can't find it.

I must admit, it seems beyond the imagination of most to consider a less competitive, more cooperative system of economy. We want to defeat the beast, yet depend on it so much