John Ryan
Reporter
About
John Ryan joined KUOW as its first full-time investigative reporter in 2009 and took on the environment beat in 2018. He focuses on climate change, energy, and the ecosystems of the Puget Sound region. He has also investigated toxic air pollution, landslides, failed cleanups, and money in politics for KUOW.
Over a quarter century as an environmental journalist, John has covered everything from Arctic drilling to Indonesian reef bombing. He has been a reporter at NPR stations in southeast and southwest Alaska (KTOO-Juneau and KUCB-Unalaska) and at the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce. John’s stories have won multiple national awards for KUOW, including the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi awards for Public Service in Radio Journalism and for Investigative Reporting, national Edward R. Murrow and PMJA/PRNDI awards for coverage of breaking news, and a Society of Environmental Journalists award for in-depth reporting.
He is a shop steward for KUOW’s SAG-AFTRA newsroom union and believes democracy only works when journalism holds the powerful accountable for their words and actions.
John welcomes tips, documents and feedback from listeners. Reach him at jryan@kuow.org or for secure, encrypted communication, he's at heyjohnryan@protonmail.com or 1-401-405-1206 on the Signal messaging app.
Location: Seattle
Languages: English, some Spanish
Professional Affiliations: SAG-AFTRA shop steward
Stories
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KUOW Newsroom
Washington carbon exchange lets many big polluters off the hook
State officials are putting the final touches and taking public comment on the centerpiece of Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s push to fight climate change. Critics say the state’s new system for capping greenhouse gas emissions from major polluters lets many of the worst climate offenders off the hook, forcing others to shoulder more of the burden of keeping the planet livable.
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KUOW Newsroom
Extreme heat wave cooked acres of shellfish, spared others, study finds
"A little light bulb went off in my head. I thought, ‘Oh my God, I need to contact my colleagues and find out what they're seeing."
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Today So Far Blog
60K green crabs captured in Washington waters so far in 2022 ... that's a lot
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KUOW Newsroom
Low tides not as low as forecast but do not disappoint Puget Sound beachgoers
The tides weren't the lowest in a decade, but they were the lowest since a midnight in early December.
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KUOW Newsroom
Lowest tides in 13 years coming to Puget Sound
Puget Sound should see its lowest tides in more than a decade on Wednesday and Thursday.
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KUOW Newsroom
Renton neighbors object to storing climate-friendly batteries in their community
Just south of Seattle, a proposal for an industrial-scale energy storage facility has neighbors crying foul.
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Today So Far Blog
Energy storage proposal prompts controversy in Renton
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KUOW Newsroom
'It's bringing healing:' Methow Valley land returned to Colville Tribes
More than a century after the United States government took most of their land, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation are getting small chunks of it back.
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KUOW Newsroom
Tri-Cities researchers say they can extract lithium from water. That's a big deal.
The nanoparticle technology could supply a large share of the lithium needed for batteries as America transitions to electric vehicles.
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Scenic Tacoma road permanently closed to cars. Blame climate change
Crumbling cliffs have led Metro Parks Tacoma to permanently close two miles of Five Mile Drive, a popular park road built atop the bluffs of Tacoma’s Point Defiance 109 years ago.