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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Relaxed mussels? Opioids found in Puget Sound shellfish hint at crisis
If you take legal or illegal drugs, or even flush them down the toilet unused, there's a good chance they'll wind up in Puget Sound. Now there may be...
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Paul Allen, Nick Hanauer pledge $1 million each to gun control initiative
They're not the biggest political contributions in the state's history, but they're up there. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen says he has written a...
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Eat. Pray. Truck. How a Northwest tribe brings salmon home
The Puyallup Tribe welcomed the first salmon of the year back to the Puyallup River in Tacoma on Tuesday. Strangely, perhaps, that chinook's epic...
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Extinction could be a hot summer away for the little red fish of Lake Sammamish
A little red fish that calls Lake Sammamish home is swimming desperately close to extinction. Officials are embarking on emergency measures to keep the...
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10 homeless kids will get personalized lullabies this Mother's Day
The Seattle Symphony will perform five original lullabies at a free Mother's Day concert this weekend. And each lullaby was composed with help from a parent staying at a local homeless shelter.
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Boeing's toxic PCBs ooze into Seattle's Duwamish River
Decades after they were banned, the toxic chemicals known as PCBs keep oozing into Seattle's Duwamish River. Environmental groups say one Boeing...
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An ancient fish hook could solve a big, modern problem
As the sun rose above Neah Bay one foggy morning three years ago, a boatful of anglers headed out to the Pacific Ocean to fish for halibut — something their Makah ancestors have done for thousands of years.
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Homeless, and now campless, in Seattle's Ravenna neighborhood
Charlie Blackwood was running off three hours of sleep and seven cups of coffee when he packed up his belongings. He had been living with seven other...
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Taxi drivers protest ultimatum at Sea-Tac Airport
The taxi business ain’t what it used to be. That's partly why cabbies picketed at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Tuesday, fighting back...
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Seattle has most regressive taxes among large U.S. cities, report says
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the unfairest of them all? Famed is thy progressiveness, Seattle, but when it comes to taxes, it’s you.