Part I:

Simon Sinek says that, “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” I like this quote, because I realize it’s true the more I think about it. I wouldn’t buy anything from a profit based company or a company that doesn’t support or even care about charities. Like Simon said, “it just doesn’t feel right.” I think a lot of people also feel the same way. For me, it seems like common sense now, and those words will probably have significance in my product for this course.

Whatever my product is for this course, I will keep this video in mind. It should help a lot. I said that I wouldn’t buy or support any company that just does stuff to do it, and doesn’t have a reason to do it. I, well, really everybody else in this course, should probably keep in mind that you will most likely not get as much support when you and people don’t know why you are doing it. I, personally, am definitely going to use the “Golden Circle” as a template. I want to make sure that people know my reason for fighting for our lake.

Part II:

According to my research, some of the things being done to decrease Lake Champlain’s pollution includes:

• needing a permit for construction and farms; aiming to reduce harmful run-off from these places
• Vermont, New York, and Quebec (the main contributors to the pollution) banned phosphorus from detergents
• federal and state cost-share programs have helped make buffer zones of strips of trees and grass in between land and the lake
• (“A Look at Vermont’s Efforts to Clean up Lake Champlain.” WPTZ. N.p., 2016. Web. 28 Sept. 2016.)

Since Vermont, New York, and Quebec started decreasing their contributions to the pollution in the 1990’s, the phosphorus levels have either stayed the same, or changed so slightly, no one noticed. I know I never asked any question regarding the things that have been done to change this issue in my interviews, so I hope my research will suffice.

Since Vermont, New York, and Quebec are the main sources of the elevated phosphorus levels in Lake Champlain, (according to my source), I think this is good, that these areas are the ones doing something about it. We live in Vermont, which means that we also contribute, and that we also need to do something about it.

Part III:

I believe that this should be a high-priority issue, that needs more attention. Sure, there are people trying to change it, but how long will there efforts last. I believe that we should help in the fight to cleanse Lake Champlain.

We can do a lot of things to turn the tides (no pun intended) in this issue. We can spread the word using media, and the video equipment we will get when we form our teams. We can support the ban of phosphorus in detergents by also spreading the word on phosphorus in the lake. We can help further the construction of of the buffer-zones between our land and the lake by fundraising and donating, or even manual-labor, if it is really needed.

Lake Champlain, our beloved swimming pool. Where families go in the summer, and where friends go to hang out and swim.