Lisa Song
I report on the EPA and related agencies that oversee the environment, climate change and science.
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What I Cover
I cover how environmental regulations (or the lack thereof) affect communities, human health and the natural world.
My Background
I joined ProPublica in 2017 to cover environmental health and the fossil fuel industry. I’ve written about false solutions related to plastic recycling, carbon credits and biodiversity offsets. I’ve chronicled conflicts of interest in scientific research and regulators’ inability to curb major polluters. I’m currently focused on how the Trump administration is changing environmental protections. My reporting has led to regulatory change and has been cited in lawsuits.
Prior to ProPublica, I worked at Inside Climate News, where I was part of the reporting team that revealed Exxon’s shift from conducting global warming research to supporting climate denial. I co-wrote “The Dilbit Disaster,” which won a Pulitzer Prize for national reporting. I have degrees in earth science and science writing from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
How Trump’s EPA Threatens Efforts to Clean Up Areas Affected Most by Dangerous Air Pollution
In just two weeks, Donald Trump has made drastic changes to the Environmental Protection Agency. Here’s how they could impact efforts to reform toxic hot spots across the U.S. and who will be left to safeguard these communities.
The Rewriting of a Pioneering Female Astronomer’s Legacy Shows How Far Trump’s DEI Purge Will Go
The federal webpage for an observatory named for the late astronomer Vera Rubin was edited to omit any recognition of the fact that science remains a male-dominated field or that the observatory was working to be more inclusive.
The Delusion of “Advanced” Plastic Recycling
The plastics industry has heralded a type of chemical recycling it claims could replace new shopping bags and candy wrappers with old ones — but not much is being recycled at all, and this method won’t curb the crisis.
How the World Bank Group Is Enabling the Deaths of Endangered Chimps
The World Bank Group enabled the devastation of villages and helped a mining company justify the deaths of endangered chimps with a dubious offset.
The Plastics Industry’s Wish List for a Second Trump Administration
Critics call it the plastics industry’s Project 2025. Tucked into a federal recycling bill is a litany of regulatory rollbacks and other industry-friendly provisions that federal agencies under Donald Trump could adopt without congressional approval.
ExxonMobil Accused of “Deceptively” Promoting Chemical Recycling as a Solution for the Plastics Crisis
The California attorney general’s lawsuit, which cites ProPublica reporting, alleges that products made with Exxon’s process contain only a small fraction of the recycled plastic that they claim to have.
These Household Brands Want to Redefine What Counts as “Recyclable”
From Coke to Clorox, ProPublica contacted all 51 companies on the Consumer Brands Association board of directors to ask if they agreed with the group’s proposed redefinition of “recyclable” plastic. Most did not respond. None said they disagreed.
Biden EPA Rejects Plastics Industry’s Fuzzy Math That Misleads Customers About Recycled Content
The plastics industry uses a controversial accounting method to inflate the recycled content it advertises in products. A new EPA policy won’t allow it for any products it endorses as a “Safer Choice.”
When Is “Recyclable” Not Really Recyclable? When the Plastics Industry Gets to Define What the Word Means.
Companies whose futures depend on plastic production are trying to persuade the federal government to allow them to put the label “recyclable” on plastic shopping bags and other items virtually guaranteed to end up in landfills and incinerators.
Plastic, Plastic Everywhere — Even at the UN’s “Plastic Free” Conference
At a conference meant to address the plastic crisis, pro-plastic messaging was inescapable. Meanwhile, industry insiders — some positioned as government delegates — were given access to vital negotiations.
EPA Finalizes New Standards for Cancer-Causing Chemicals
The regulation specifically targets ethylene oxide, which a ProPublica analysis found was the single biggest contributor to excess industrial cancer risk from air pollutants nationwide.
The EPA Has Done Nearly Everything It Can to Clean Up This Town. It Hasn’t Worked.
Despite years of air monitoring, inspections and millions in penalties for petrochemical plants, the air in Calvert City, Kentucky, remains polluted. The EPA’s inability to fix it is an indictment of the laws governing clean air, experts say.
New EPA Rule to Slash Cancer-Causing Emissions From Sterilization Facilities
The new rule comes after a 2021 investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune revealed the EPA’s yearslong failure to inform communities of the risks they faced from cancer-causing ethylene oxide emissions.
Do You Have Experience in or With the Plastics Industry? Tell Us About It.
Help journalists at the investigative nonprofit newsroom ProPublica examine plastics from creation to recycling and disposal. If you’ve worked in or been affected by the plastics industry, we want to hear from you.