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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Oso Logger: We Followed Rules, Cut Edge Of Landslide Zone Cautiously
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story stated that land above the Oso landslide zone was logged in 2005. The site was logged in 2004 and...
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Coast Guard Blames Kulluk Grounding on Shell Oil's Complacency, Risk Taking
A US Coast Guard investigation blames Shell Oil's complacency and risk-taking for an oil rig running aground on a remote Alaskan Island on New Year's...
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DNR Investigates Out-Of-Bounds Clear-Cut, Other Possible Factors In Oso Landslide
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story stated that land above the Oso landslide zone was logged in 2005. The site was logged in 2004 and...
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Clear-Cut Crossed Into No-Logging Zone In Oso
State officials say they didn't approve clear-cutting inside a no-logging zone directly above Saturday's deadly landslide that struck the town of Oso....
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Concern Over Landslide-Logging Connection Near Oso Is Decades Old
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story stated that land above the Oso landslide zone was logged in 2005. The site was logged in 2004 and...
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Seattle To Let Pedestrians Walk More Slowly
The city of Seattle is re-timing traffic signals throughout the city to make crosswalks safer for all pedestrians. A study conducted by a group of...
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Archaeological Digging Starts On Seattle's Stalled Tunnel Project
The past could present yet another obstacle to the future of the state Route 99 megaproject on the Seattle waterfront. Archaeologists with the tunnel...
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Intentional Avalanche Destroys Crystal Mountain Chairlift
An avalanche destroyed a chairlift at the Crystal Mountain resort near Mount Rainier on Monday afternoon when the resort was closed. The avalanche was...
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Bertha's Very Bad Week, A Timeline
It’s been hard to get straight answers about what forced Bertha, the world's largest tunnel machine, to halt. It began boring July 30, 2013, and when Bertha broke down in December, it was ahead of schedule. Since then, the machine has been mostly idle beneath the Seattle waterfront. Project officials still haven't publicly identified a root cause.
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Six Months Needed To Repair Seattle Tunnel Machine
Seattle's tunnel builders say getting their world-record tunnel machine going again will take at least six more months. The tunnel machine known as...