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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King County blames power outages for big sewage spills. Tribe blames the county.
While King County officials blame power outages from a wind storm for millions of gallons of sewage entering Lake Washington and Puget Sound early Wednesday morning, critics say the county needs to be held accountable for the pollution.
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Millions of gallons of raw sewage spill into Seattle-area waters
The recent region-wide power outage caused wastewater pumps to spill raw sewage into Seattle-area waters, such as Puget Sound and Lake Washington.
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Inslee unveils new plan to tackle climate change 'head on' in WA
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says there’s no silver bullet for the climate, so he’s pushing a sweeping package of policies to lower the state’s carbon footprint, economy-wide.
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Top WA elections official threatened, doxxed after challenging Trump campaign's election misinformation
Secretary of State Kim Wyman's office confirmed on Monday that it has notified the Department of Homeland Security and the state’s own counterterrorism center, the Washington State Fusion Center, about a death threat against one of her employees.
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14 baby sea stars are tiny bundles of hope for their critically endangered species
To save a critically endangered species, sometimes you have to cut off one of its arms.
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Washington's carbon footprint keeps growing. This time, buildings and planes are to blame
Despite efforts to tame it, Washington state’s impact on the climate keeps growing.
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Scientists pinpoint chemical that’s been killing coho salmon. It comes from tires
Want to avoid poisoning salmon with your toxic tire dust? Here's how
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Thousands of these small green crabs are invading Puget Sound shores
Lummi Nation crews trap 2,600 of the unwelcome invertebrates, more than anywhere in Washington
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West Seattle Bridge to be repaired, not replaced
Mayor Jenny Durkan said a repaired bridge could reopen to traffic by “mid-2022.”
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Washington restaurants brace for thousands of layoffs with ban on indoor service
"It is definitely a hard pill to swallow when it comes to your business."