Lisa Song

I report on the EPA and related agencies that oversee the environment, climate change and science.

Have a Tip for a Story?

I’m interested in talking to people who work at the EPA or NOAA. I’m also researching the environmental impacts of data centers and AI, so if you have insight into these issues, please reach out via email or Signal/WhatsApp.

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.

The EPA Let Companies Estimate Their Own Pollution Levels. We Discovered Real Emissions Are Far Worse.

The Trump administration has put a stop to EPA rules that would have required more than 130 industrial facilities to install air monitors to measure pollution. Millions of people living near these plants face an increased risk of cancer.

October 30, 2025, 5:00 am EDT
Trump Administration Orders USDA Employees to Investigate Foreign Researchers They Work With

The new directive asks workers to check the backgrounds of foreign nationals collaborating with the department’s scientists for evidence of “subversive or criminal activity.” Their names are being sent to national security experts at the agency.

January 16, 2026, 5:00 am EST
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.

June 20, 2024, 5:00 am EDT
Tear Gas Is Way More Dangerous Than Police Let On — Especially During the Coronavirus Pandemic

In the middle of a respiratory pandemic, law enforcement agencies have used tear gas in especially dangerous ways.

June 4, 2020, 12:25 pm EDT