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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Fix For Prisoner-Freeing Software Error Delayed 16 Times
The Washington Department of Corrections learned in 2012 that the software it was using to calculate prisoners' time off for good behavior was letting...
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Washington State Scrambles To Re-Arrest Prematurely Freed Inmates
Washington corrections officials say they've identified 27 former prison inmates who were released too soon and need to be re-arrested.
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The Weatherman At The End Of The Western World
William Wells dashes out into a 30-knot wind, releases a huge balloon and watches it whip toward the endless whitecaps of the Bering Sea.
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KPLU Supporters Get Their Wish: A Chance to Buy Radio Station
Fans of KPLU are expressing delight at news that the public radio station might not disappear after all. Hundreds of KPLU listeners have been fighting...
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KPLU Supporters Get Chance To Buy Station
Public radio listeners who oppose the sale of KPLU are getting a chance to try to raise the money necessary to buy the station.
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Big Businesses Pledge To Ditch Climate-Harming Electricity
Microsoft and Starbucks have joined other global businesses in going beyond the Paris climate deal by pledging to use only climate-friendly electricity....
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Climate Activists Call On Gates Foundation To Do More
While the world's richest man was meeting with world leaders in Paris at the global climate summit, climate activists marched on his foundation's...
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Microsoft Invests In Forests Near Mount Rainier To Fight Climate Change
Microsoft is investing in 520 acres of forest land next to Mount Rainier National Park – but not to turn it into another corporate campus. The software...
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Dutch Harbor Rats (Unwittingly) Help Save Pribilof Seabirds
Biologists and tribal officials in the Bering Sea off the west coast of Alaska are working to protect one of the world's greatest gatherings of seabirds...
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Shell's Oil Rigs Leave The Arctic -- And Will Skip Seattle
Shell's two Arctic oil rigs pulled into Unalaska's Dutch Harbor on Sunday, some 1,100 miles south of the company's drilling site in the Chukchi Sea....