Nothing puts a damper on an historic world-mobilizing event like a steaming heap of pollution. As 80Beats reports, the nation's current and least favorite—no, really, we're not just saying that—president is using his last days in office to enact a virtual bonanza of legislation aimed at letting industries like coal-mining and commercial fishing wreak (even more) havoc on the environment. Via the the Natural Resources Defense Council, here's a description of one of the proposed rules, which exempts factory farms from requiring permits that limit water pollution:
Creates a loophole allowing facility operators to avoid permits by claiming they won’t have a discharge. Adopts a scheme that allows facilities to avoid certain environmental enforcement. For instance, if an operator certifies that the facility won’t have a discharge, environmental authorities will ignore enforcement action, even if the facility discharges to the nation’s waters. Rejects improvements in technology that would reduce harmful ...