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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Get the message out: How one interpreter navigated Seattle when bad weather struck
Andy Gault had a rough commute on Tuesday.
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Hey KUOW, why a contest for The Biggest Carbon Loser?
The earth’s climate, as you may have heard, is pretty messed up right now. Megacities flooding, a continent afire, etc. And it’s heading into much more dangerous territory.
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Copper versus salmon: Why an Alaska mine matters in the Northwest
Hidden in the photo below is the story of an epic clash.
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Zero carbon in 30 years: Inslee sets more aggressive goal for state
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is proposing to make the state carbon-neutral in 30 years, a much more aggressive pace of pollution reduction than his administration has pursued before.
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First child flu death in King County — since 2009
A King County child died of complications from influenza in a Pierce County Hospital on Sunday, according to King County-Seattle Public Health.
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Air agency approves Tacoma gas plant. Foes vow to fight on
Claims by the energy utility and its regulator that the plant would help the global climate are false.
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Puget Sound was supposed to be healthy by now. It's not
Fifteen years after Governor Chris Gregoire set a goal to clean up Puget Sound by 2020, a new report from the Puget Sound Partnership finds the job is nowhere near complete.
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Atlantic salmon farms in Puget Sound taken to court
Atlantic salmon farms go on trial today [MONDAY, DEC. 2] in Seattle. Environmentalists have taken the owners of a salmon farm that collapsed two years ago to court for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act. KUOW’s John Ryan reports.
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Sorry, climate: Washington state's carbon emissions stay stubbornly high
Washington state’s carbon emissions remain stubbornly high, despite the efforts of Gov. Jay Inslee and others to rein in the climate-wrecking pollution, according to the latest numbers from the Washington Department of Ecology.
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Biggest Carbon Loser: KUOW launches reality-radio contest for emerging climate savers
We’re looking for contestants! KUOW is launching a new reality-radio contest where three listeners will compete for one month to reduce their carbon footprint and help save the climate.