My billion-dollar idea

After a recent trip to the area known as Duluth, I have come up with a plan to make the best place on Earth.

Okay, maybe not the best place on Earth, since I haven't been many places, but it could be the best place to come along in a long time.

I started by contacting the mayor of Duluth, who hasn't written me back yet, about an idea to revitalize the area and make Duluth one of the best places to live.

Okay, I am beating around the bush a bit but I am tired. The idea is pretty simple and holds very little risk. What you do is you take the existing land in Duluth and you take all of the open spaces in the harbor and all of the open office spaces you can think of and zone them "Green." This would mean that only companies that follow the idea of making eco-friendly products could build in them.

Secondly, you convince companies, both established and startup, to move their assembly and production to Duluth. Utilizing tax incentives and lower the price of slip space, you attract eco-minded companies to the new "friendliest port in the world."

Once you convince them to come, you have the depressed workforce create the facilities and new infrastructure necessary to house factories and ship-building areas in the harbor. All of this could be done with a little elbow grease, a lot of determination, and little money on the part of the city.

The idea would be to create a win-win situation for Duluth and the world. If it succeeds, and, as I see it, it could not lose, we gain a port of excellence where not only do we revitalize a depressed area but we also create a model for the rest of the world to follow.

I am very enthusiastic about this and I think that it would cost very little on the part of the city and would add jobs, do good for the world, and bring pride to an area that deserves it.

Let's just hope I get a chance to be heard.