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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Seattle To Let Pedestrians Walk More Slowly
The city of Seattle is re-timing traffic signals throughout the city to make crosswalks safer for all pedestrians. A study conducted by a group of...
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Archaeological Digging Starts On Seattle's Stalled Tunnel Project
The past could present yet another obstacle to the future of the state Route 99 megaproject on the Seattle waterfront. Archaeologists with the tunnel...
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Intentional Avalanche Destroys Crystal Mountain Chairlift
An avalanche destroyed a chairlift at the Crystal Mountain resort near Mount Rainier on Monday afternoon when the resort was closed. The avalanche was...
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Bertha's Very Bad Week, A Timeline
It’s been hard to get straight answers about what forced Bertha, the world's largest tunnel machine, to halt. It began boring July 30, 2013, and when Bertha broke down in December, it was ahead of schedule. Since then, the machine has been mostly idle beneath the Seattle waterfront. Project officials still haven't publicly identified a root cause.
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Six Months Needed To Repair Seattle Tunnel Machine
Seattle's tunnel builders say getting their world-record tunnel machine going again will take at least six more months. The tunnel machine known as...
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Transportation Officials: To Fix Bertha, Cutter Head Needs To Be Removed
Bertha needs a face lift. Washington State Department of Transportation officials told the Seattle City Council Monday afternoon that the face of the...
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Tunnel Tolling: Build It, And They Won't Come?
Anyone who's hosted a party has probably had that panicky feeling beforehand: What if you throw a big party and nobody comes? State transportation...
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Seattle's Tunnel Machine Chokes On Dirt
State officials said Friday afternoon that the tunneling machine known as Bertha had to stop, not because it hit foreign objects, but because it clogged...
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Tesoro Refinery Blast Reflects Industry-Wide Problems
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story included the Washington Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals’ mistaken assertion that Tesoro’s fines...
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Workers To Descend Into Blocked Bertha In A Pressurized Bubble
To get Bertha moving again, state officials announced Wednesday that they are sending in human reinforcements – in a giant, pressurized bubble.