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
RIP Washington’s Hinman Glacier, gone after thousands of years
The largest glacier between the high peaks of Mount Rainier and Glacier Peak has melted away after a long battle with global warming.
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FBI warned of neo-Nazi plots as attacks on Northwest grid spiked
As a string of attacks on electrical substations unfolded in Oregon and Washington in 2022, the FBI was warning utilities of white supremacists’ plots to take down the nation’s power grid. A KUOW/OPB investigation reveals the scope of the threat to the Northwest grid.
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Crime
Suspects in Christmas grid attacks planned additional crimes, prosecutors say
The men charged with attacking four substations in Pierce County on Christmas day were plotting even more attacks on the power grid before they were arrested, according to federal prosecutors.
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Crime
Washington grid attacks flew under the radar for months
DOE data and other reporting by KUOW reveal previously unreported attacks on substations in Washington state this summer.
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Environment
Washington's apex has a national park. Its low point doesn’t have a name
Thousands climb Mount Rainier, Washington's highest point, each year. No one, apparently, has ever been to the state’s lowest point.
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Crime
Christmas brings new round of attacks on Northwest power grid
The Christmas crimes in Pierce County are the latest in a string of physical attacks on the Northwest power grid.
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Environment
‘Tis the season … for king tides around Puget Sound
‘Tis the season for king tides: The highest tides of the year. Extreme high tides are headed to Puget Sound Saturday, Sunday, and Monday morning of the last week of December.
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Environment
Deadly flu hits Washington birds
Wildlife officials have found hundreds of dead snow geese around Washington’s Skagit Bay, suspected victims of highly pathogenic avian influenza: bird flu.
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Crime
String of electrical grid attacks in Pacific Northwest are unsolved
Electric substations in the Northwest have been attacked, at least two with firearms, according to documents obtained by OPB and KUOW.
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Environment
Murder kittens: Outdoor cats take heavy toll on wildlife
Despite the wildlife hospital’s best efforts, 80% of cat-attack victims brought there do not survive.