title:  On The Day A Hurricane Is About To Hit Land, Trump Signs Order Making Floods Worse
text: Donald Trump is about to get his first real test as Commander-in-Chief. Hurricane Harvey is a Category four storm that s about to hit landfall in Texas. It will be the worst since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and on the very same day it s set to hit he s going to sign an executive order that will potentially make future hurricane damage much worse.Trump s executive order is just another petulant attempt at undoing everything Obama did because well he was Obama. It would reverse standards that would make government buildings safer from flooding   something needed with rising sea levels, and yes, with hurricanes.The Trump administration has complained that it takes too much time to get permits and approvals for construction projects. The administration has issued dozens of rules and orders to reverse or rescind Obama-era regulations addressing climate change and its consequences such as rising sea levels and more severe storms.The Obama-era standard required that builders factor in scientific projections for how climate change could affect flooding in a certain area and ensure projects can withstand rising sea levels and stronger downpours.Source: CNBCThe scientific consensus is that sea levels are going to rise at an alarming level. By the end of the century, they could rise by more than six feet. While that may not sound like a lot, think about the havoc on your own home when there are just a few inches of flood water.Obviously, this executive order only affects federal buildings and state regulations could easily override them, but many of the states in the flood zones (like Texas, Louisiana, the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida) are led by, and overwhelmingly inhabited by, Republican climate change deniers. Washington, D.C. is also in a flood zone.Trump sees safety regulations on buildings as an inconvenience for him. Overturning Obama s executive order does two things, it helps erase the black guy s legacy and it helps the Grifter-in-Chief just in case he gets a federal contract.Featured image via Pool/Getty Images.