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Articles by Ethan Berkowitz
Opinion: Fiber optic cable, stranded energy and AI: Alaska’s next great opportunity
A technician works at an Amazon Web Services AI data center in New Carlisle, Ind., on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025. (Noah Berger/Amazon Web Services via AP) Artificial intelligence and data storage are reshaping infrastructure at a historic scale and speed. In 2023, AI and data storage consumed 4.4% of U.S. energy, and that is expected to double or triple by 2028. Aside from enormous energy requirements for power and cooling, AI needs diverse (as in multiple pathways) and ginormous fiber connectivity.
Opinion: Alaska doesn’t need another boom, it needs a backbone
The Alaska State Capitol in Juneau. (Becky Bohrer/AP) For more than a quarter century, Alaska has had oil booms and busts, governors of every stripe, and no shortage of task forces with glossy binders filled with plans promising better days. What we have lacked is a durable fiscal plan. Instead, we’ve looped the same argument: put the Permanent Fund dividend above everything else, don’t impose broad-based taxes, pray for higher oil prices, raid savings when the math doesn’t pencil out.
THE POWER OF PEACEFUL PROTEST
The power of peaceful protest by Ethan Berkowitz mayor of Anchorage “Hopelessness is the enemy of justice,” said Civil Rights leader Bryan Stevenson. As we struggle for justice, we cannot lose hope. We are engaged in a national debate that reflects a tragic legacy of racism and injustice and propels the enduring hope we can move towards a more equitable and just future. That debate has simmered and boiled throughout our history. It is now focused on the role police have in our community.
Hunkering down gives us time to prepare for COVID-19’s full impact
These times call for quiet heroism and elemental decency. It is a time to bravely draw on our best selves and our kindest ways. COVID-19 poses a massive public health threat that has cascaded into economic and social disruption of unimagined magnitude. Many will be afflicted, more will endure hardship, and all will be changed. As we confront the pandemic, let’s resolve to stay informed, stay connected and stay safe.
‘We’re Alaskans. We got this.’
A few hours after the earthquake hit last November, a Lower 48 reporter asked me, “So, what’s going on with rioting in Anchorage?” A lot happened that day. Dispatchers took 911 calls while aftershocks forced them under their desks. Retirees showed up to work. Within hours, municipal, state, utility and private sector crews secured critical infrastructure and reestablished electricity and heat across the city. Neighbors checked on each other. Riots? That didn’t even cross our minds.
BERKOWITZ | What’s Next, President Garrett?
February 4, 2016 Columns By Ethan Berkowitz | February 4, 2016 “Cornell Takes A Stand.” “Cornell Becomes First Ivy League to Say Yes To A Green Future.” “Big Red Becomes Big Green.” These would-be front-page headlines could have reaffirmed Cornell’s commitment towards being a “green” leader amongst academic institutions.
History is watching. Let’s look out for one another.
I remember when Ted Stevens would put on his Hulk tie and do battle for Alaska. He fought hard, and so did generations of leaders who put Alaska first. They would be appalled at what is happening to their dream. The Great Land is in peril. The women and men who built and bequeathed Alaska were tough, fair, and smart; they had wisdom and common sense. We need to draw on that spirit today since the adversity we face betrays our legacy and jeopardizes our future.
Alaska’s Search for Solutions to a Rapidly Changing Reality
It seems as if almost every day a new study is published about the long-term effects of climate change. Here in Anchorage, Alaska, we are sourcing creative solutions to the immediate threat climate change poses to our city’s infrastructure, economy and lives. To get a sense of the challenges we face, just take a look at our city’s nearly 60-year-old port, the Port of Alaska. The Port of Alaska is the primary point of entry for bringing goods into our state.
We support an Anchorage municipal alcohol tax
We represent some of Anchorage’s biggest employers and most significant institutions. We are concerned about public safety and homelessness in our community and want to help create a safer, more livable space. We are the Anchorage Homelessness Leadership Council, and we believe the proposed retail alcohol sales tax (Ballot Proposition 9) is urgently needed to restore the quality of our public places and to assist chronically homeless residents into permanent housing.
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