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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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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60K green crabs captured in Washington waters so far in 2022 ... that's a lot
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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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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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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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Energy storage proposal prompts controversy in Renton
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'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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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.
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Looking for an electric vehicle? Here’s why they’re hard to find in Washington
Automakers have shifted deliveries of the climate-friendly vehicles to states with better incentives for selling clean cars.