John Ryan
Environment Reporter
About
John Ryan joined KUOW as its first full-time investigative reporter in 2009 and became its environment reporter 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 Society of Environmental Journalists awards for in-depth reporting.
John welcomes tips, documents, and feedback. 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, some Indonesian
Professional Affiliations: SAG-AFTRA union member and former shop steward; Society of Environmental Journalists member and mentor
Stories
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Northwest floods offer sneak peek of hotter climate's toll
“The science is clear that floods are going to become larger and more frequent in the future,” Washington State Climatologist Guillaume Mauger said.
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Flooding in WA: Skagit County, Gov. Ferguson's emergency response and more
Catastrophic flooding continues to threaten Washington. We talked to three KUOW reporters about what they're seeing on the ground and what we need to know about this weather event.
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Western Washington faces 'catastrophic' flooding as two atmospheric rivers dump heavy rain
Western Washington braced for what the National Weather Service in Seattle called “catastrophic” conditions Wednesday as an atmospheric river drenched the state.
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Nine Alaska seismic stations to go dark in January, slowing West Coast tsunami alerts
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Mount Rainier is shrinking (just a bit), new study finds
The Pacific Northwest’s highest peak is a little less lofty than it used to be, according to a new study.
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Emergency declared as Northwest’s main oil pipeline shuts down again
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Jet fuel spill shuts down Northwest's main oil pipeline
Spill-response crews planned to start digging up a blueberry farm near Everett on Tuesday to find the cause of a jet-fuel spill that shut down the Pacific Northwest’s primary oil pipeline.
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Rare orca superpod comes to Seattle
They came together Sunday evening not far from Port Townsend. Why, no one can say for sure, except the participants themselves — and no humans speak their language.
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Washington state low-income energy aid continues despite federal shutdown
The U.S. government shutdown has turned off the spigot of federal aid for people who need help to keep the heat on, but the situation in Washington state is less dire than elsewhere.
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See no emissions? State attorneys say Trump plan to stop tracking climate pollution is illegal
A coalition of 15 states including Washington and Oregon says a Trump administration proposal to turn a blind eye to greenhouse gas pollution is illegal.
