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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Gov. Inslee signs flurry of anti-pollution laws, but draws ire with vetoes
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed a sweeping set of new environmental laws Monday. He also vetoed some of their key provisions, drawing criticism from both Democratic and Republican legislators.
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King County aims to slash carbon emissions in half by 2030, including aviation
The King County Council unanimously approved a new climate strategy Tuesday, aimed at cutting the county's climate-harming pollution in half in less than a decade.
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Cap-and-trade law tackles big polluters, fractures political alliances
A sweeping climate proposal from Gov. Jay Inslee has both fractured existing alliances and sparked new ones — among activists and oil refineries alike — on its way to becoming Washington state law.
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How Inslee’s climate agenda just got a boost
'I would call it a victory for climate advocates, with a big asterisk on it.’
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Climate advocates go to court to block Tacoma gas plant
Dueling lawyers made their opening arguments Monday in a case that could determine whether a major fossil-fuel plant opens on the Tacoma waterfront.
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Northwest ports pledge to stop air pollution (29 years from now)
The Northwest’s biggest ports promise to stop polluting the air — 29 years from now.
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One-third of Covid cases are 'variants of concern' in Washington state
About one-third of recent Covid-19 cases (35.9%) in Washington state are "variants of concern."
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Heavier rainfall to cost Seattle area billions to avoid sewage spills
More-intense storms are expected to cost the Seattle area billions of dollars in coming decades -- without even counting the potential for more flooding or landslides.
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Washington state is in danger of breaking its own climate laws, Inslee says
Without urgent action by the Legislature, Washington state will run afoul of its own pollution laws, according to Gov. Jay Inslee.
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Environmental justice moves to mainstream as governments embrace cause
Washington state’s oil refineries all sit near, or on, Indian reservations. Advocates say that fits a national pattern of pollution disproportionately hitting people of color.