The use and abuse of the environment is a complex matter, especially in the vast but fragile Amazon rainforest. Logging, mining and large scale agriculture have been important sources of jobs and profits in Brazil for centuries. There is growing national, as well as international, pressure to stop the plunder of the Amazon. These conflicting interests are refelected in the new law, whose first draft was introduced seven years ago. As it emerged from Congress on January 28th, the law unifies a host of disparate regulations and for the first time, creates "environmental crimes".