John Ryan
@heyjohnryan.bsky.social
KUOW Public Radio environment reporter. Seattle. Is this thing on?
Tips, leaks--DM me, or email [email protected], or Signal: @heyjohnryan.10
Tips, leaks--DM me, or email [email protected], or Signal: @heyjohnryan.10
On this MLK Day weekend, with clear skies over Seattle, I saw moons of Jupiter on 2 nights. I used binoculars just strong enough to spot the moons while lying down to steady my head and hands. After too much doomscrolling, it was good to be reminded how small the Earth and all its troubles are.
January 20, 2026 at 5:50 AM
On this MLK Day weekend, with clear skies over Seattle, I saw moons of Jupiter on 2 nights. I used binoculars just strong enough to spot the moons while lying down to steady my head and hands. After too much doomscrolling, it was good to be reminded how small the Earth and all its troubles are.
January 19, 2026 at 2:09 PM
Sea pens that escape their predators, whether by disco lights or deflation, can live 100 years 🤯 and “outlive the bastards,” as Edward Abbey once advised…
January 11, 2026 at 2:04 AM
Sea pens that escape their predators, whether by disco lights or deflation, can live 100 years 🤯 and “outlive the bastards,” as Edward Abbey once advised…
Lots of stars and pens and a few of the nudis beneath the Fauntleroy ferry dock in West Seattle in Dec. When their predators show up, the quill-like sea pen quckly deflates to retreat into the sand. When disturbed, it lights up like a flashing blue-green glow stick (!!).
January 11, 2026 at 2:04 AM
Lots of stars and pens and a few of the nudis beneath the Fauntleroy ferry dock in West Seattle in Dec. When their predators show up, the quill-like sea pen quckly deflates to retreat into the sand. When disturbed, it lights up like a flashing blue-green glow stick (!!).
New species (to me) who dis? The orange sea pen, mightier than the sea sword?, but prey to the leather star and the striped nudibranch. 🧵
January 11, 2026 at 2:04 AM
New species (to me) who dis? The orange sea pen, mightier than the sea sword?, but prey to the leather star and the striped nudibranch. 🧵
Uhh is it the end times? My phone has started typing backwards for some reason.
January 10, 2026 at 7:34 PM
Uhh is it the end times? My phone has started typing backwards for some reason.
Musta been a honkin' big salmon...
www.kuow.org/stories/why-...
www.kuow.org/stories/why-...
January 9, 2026 at 9:29 PM
Musta been a honkin' big salmon...
www.kuow.org/stories/why-...
www.kuow.org/stories/why-...
After a major storm dumped snow on the North Cascades this week, northern Washington snowpack is looking good. Rest of WA, not so much.
nwcc-apps.sc.egov.usda.gov/imap/#versio...
nwcc-apps.sc.egov.usda.gov/imap/#versio...
January 9, 2026 at 9:24 PM
After a major storm dumped snow on the North Cascades this week, northern Washington snowpack is looking good. Rest of WA, not so much.
nwcc-apps.sc.egov.usda.gov/imap/#versio...
nwcc-apps.sc.egov.usda.gov/imap/#versio...
No flowers in December, but spectacular lichens and some cool, unusual fungi too
January 7, 2026 at 6:34 PM
No flowers in December, but spectacular lichens and some cool, unusual fungi too
Life choices, 2026 style:
January 7, 2026 at 4:42 PM
Life choices, 2026 style:
Oof! A few years ago, WSJ shamelessly rehashed a story I broke, interviewing 5(!) of my obscure sources. After my editor complained, WSJ added a link. No mention, mind you, just a hyperlink to our story hidden beneath the word "News." Good job, WSJ.
x.com/heyjohnryan/...
x.com/heyjohnryan/...
January 5, 2026 at 11:12 PM
Oof! A few years ago, WSJ shamelessly rehashed a story I broke, interviewing 5(!) of my obscure sources. After my editor complained, WSJ added a link. No mention, mind you, just a hyperlink to our story hidden beneath the word "News." Good job, WSJ.
x.com/heyjohnryan/...
x.com/heyjohnryan/...
The legend lives on from the Muckleshoot on down
Of the big lake they called Greenlakegumee
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of December turn gloomy
(Seattle’s mighty [260-acre, 13-foot-average-depth] Green Lake in a windstorm today)
Of the big lake they called Greenlakegumee
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of December turn gloomy
(Seattle’s mighty [260-acre, 13-foot-average-depth] Green Lake in a windstorm today)
December 16, 2025 at 3:05 AM
The legend lives on from the Muckleshoot on down
Of the big lake they called Greenlakegumee
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of December turn gloomy
(Seattle’s mighty [260-acre, 13-foot-average-depth] Green Lake in a windstorm today)
Of the big lake they called Greenlakegumee
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of December turn gloomy
(Seattle’s mighty [260-acre, 13-foot-average-depth] Green Lake in a windstorm today)
Great to see dozens of chonk, large (i.e., old) ochre stars under the Edmonds ferry dock on Friday night’s crazy-low (-3.2’) tide. And saw no obvious signs of sea star wasting disease, a scourge of the sea for the past decade-plus.
December 9, 2025 at 1:40 AM
Great to see dozens of chonk, large (i.e., old) ochre stars under the Edmonds ferry dock on Friday night’s crazy-low (-3.2’) tide. And saw no obvious signs of sea star wasting disease, a scourge of the sea for the past decade-plus.
Here, 11pm-1am pics from beaches, sea walls, and dock pilings of Edmonds, WA, north of Seattle.
December 6, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Here, 11pm-1am pics from beaches, sea walls, and dock pilings of Edmonds, WA, north of Seattle.
At night, he defies sleep 🥱💤 to explore the year’s lowest waters, an incredible -4.1’ tide Friday night that exposed countless salty wonders to intrepid midnight tidepoolers! ⭐️ 🐙🐟🦀🐚
December 6, 2025 at 5:47 PM
At night, he defies sleep 🥱💤 to explore the year’s lowest waters, an incredible -4.1’ tide Friday night that exposed countless salty wonders to intrepid midnight tidepoolers! ⭐️ 🐙🐟🦀🐚
🧵Yesterday I was Extreme Waterman! 🦸♂️
December 6, 2025 at 5:04 PM
🧵Yesterday I was Extreme Waterman! 🦸♂️
This morning, U.S. Customs and Border Protection provided documents I FOIA'd in Feb. 2021 about an oil train disaster in Whatcom County, WA, in 2020. Thanks, I guess? #foia
December 4, 2025 at 8:37 PM
This morning, U.S. Customs and Border Protection provided documents I FOIA'd in Feb. 2021 about an oil train disaster in Whatcom County, WA, in 2020. Thanks, I guess? #foia
This morning, U.S. Customs and Border Protection provided documents I FOIA'd in Feb. 2021 about an oil train disaster in 2020. Thanks, I guess? #foia
December 4, 2025 at 8:29 PM
This morning, U.S. Customs and Border Protection provided documents I FOIA'd in Feb. 2021 about an oil train disaster in 2020. Thanks, I guess? #foia
My Bsky wrapped:
Not sure why "KUOW" and "pipeline" aren't in there but feels about right otherwise:
Not sure why "KUOW" and "pipeline" aren't in there but feels about right otherwise:
December 4, 2025 at 5:46 PM
My Bsky wrapped:
Not sure why "KUOW" and "pipeline" aren't in there but feels about right otherwise:
Not sure why "KUOW" and "pipeline" aren't in there but feels about right otherwise:
Dramatic drone photo released by BP today of cleanup work where its Olympic Pipeline spilled jet fuel. Still no timeline for re-starting the Northwest's main fossil-fuel pipeline.
November 21, 2025 at 12:51 AM
Dramatic drone photo released by BP today of cleanup work where its Olympic Pipeline spilled jet fuel. Still no timeline for re-starting the Northwest's main fossil-fuel pipeline.
The plan allows drilling off AK, CA, and the Gulf of Mexico. Pacific Northwest waters would not be opened to drilling.
www.boem.gov/oil-gas-ener...
www.boem.gov/oil-gas-ener...
November 20, 2025 at 9:16 PM
The plan allows drilling off AK, CA, and the Gulf of Mexico. Pacific Northwest waters would not be opened to drilling.
www.boem.gov/oil-gas-ener...
www.boem.gov/oil-gas-ener...
In the annals of dumb crimes, add this one:
November 20, 2025 at 12:46 AM
In the annals of dumb crimes, add this one:
SUPERPOD!
Orca fans (and researchers) were thrilled when the entire population of southern resident killer whales (all 74 of 'em) met up in Puget Sound this week.
www.kuow.org/stories/rare...
Orca fans (and researchers) were thrilled when the entire population of southern resident killer whales (all 74 of 'em) met up in Puget Sound this week.
www.kuow.org/stories/rare...
November 13, 2025 at 8:18 PM
SUPERPOD!
Orca fans (and researchers) were thrilled when the entire population of southern resident killer whales (all 74 of 'em) met up in Puget Sound this week.
www.kuow.org/stories/rare...
Orca fans (and researchers) were thrilled when the entire population of southern resident killer whales (all 74 of 'em) met up in Puget Sound this week.
www.kuow.org/stories/rare...