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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Environment
Endangered Northwest orca population drops as 3 males die
Three members of the Northwest’s population of endangered orcas died over the past year.
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Environment
Sister seas on opposite shores face same foe: polluted runoff
“Why do we think it takes 40 or 50 years to fix an estuary, a series of rivers, or even a bay? If you stop putting shit in these rivers, they get better fast."
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Environment
River otter drags child off dock, under water in Bremerton
A river otter pulled a small child off a dock and dragged it underwater at the Bremerton Marina Thursday morning.
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Environment
Shhh! The orcas can’t hear their dinner
When an orca hunts salmon, it clicks and buzzes. It sends a beam of sounds from its nasal passages into the murky depths in hopes that the sound waves will bounce back and reveal the location of its next nutritious meal. Those hopes are often dashed when noise from passing vessels drowns out orcas’ sonar signals.
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Environment
Deadly white-nose disease is spreading in Western Washington bats
A deadly disease in bats is spreading in western Washington.
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Environment
Puget Sound tanker traffic thickens as Canadian pipeline boosts oil flow
A 750-foot-long oil tanker and its high-powered escort tug started motoring west from a pipeline terminal near Vancouver, British Columbia, Wednesday afternoon.
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Environment
Five more Seattle libraries to become extreme-heat refuges
Cold cash from the Federal Emergency Management Agency is helping Seattle cool its libraries.
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Environment
San Juans’ sea stars start long crawl back from near-extinction
Pizza-sized predators are crawling around the San Juan Islands this summer. Scientists are celebrating.
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Environment
Junk from Olympic coast cargo spill still washing ashore nearly 3 years later
Canadian officials say 97% of the debris spilled when 109 shipping containers toppled off a cargo ship off the Olympia Peninsula remains at sea.
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Environment
Jurassic shark: Scientists find ancient species in Puget Sound
Scientists have documented two species of shark in Puget Sound for the first time. The discoveries began when a fisherman posted a selfie with a shark he caught.