You probably already know that bottled water is not green. The production and distribution of bottled water uses energy, produces pollution, and has minimal (if any) benefit over the potable water currently available to all Americans. Plenty of other bloggers and major publications have addressed this issue. You can find excellent articles about it here, here, and here. You are probably tired of reading about it. I know I am.

So why did I buy an Aquafina last week?

Even though we know bottled water is foolish and bad for mother earth, many of us still buy it occasionally. And when we are at work or at the doctor’s office, we head for the water cooler to fill our glass, not the bathroom tap. My own business has four water coolers, strategically located around the office, and because of them I probably drink half a gallon of bottled water a day.

When encountering hypocrisy, especially within ourselves, it is important to ask “Why?” in an honest, non-judgmental way. We already know the facts. Why do we ignore them?

I performed an informal survey among my green colleagues and friends and came up with the following two answers:

1. Bottled water (and the water cooler tanks) are convenient,
2. And they taste better, or seems healthier and safer, than the available tap water.

There were many variations on those answers, but those were the two major categories.

We all know about the convenience problem. I go on many spur-of-the-moment hikes up Camels Hump or Mount Mansfield. When I don’t have time to dig around and find, wash, and fill my Nalgene, I grab the $1.79 liter bottle from the Quick Stop. And safety or taste? When I do bring the Nalgene from home, after I finish it I am not going to fill it up in the restroom at a public gas station! It just doesn’t seem safe and clean, and any hint of a bad taste is going to make me dump it.

These self-effacing stories reflect what I hear from my friends and colleagues. Most people are willing to admit that the convenience problem is their own fault, and that they should do better to change their lifestyle. But when it comes to taste, health, and safety, people are less interested in claiming personal responsibility.

Sometimes, we just don’t trust the tap water. Or we don’t like the taste. Or we feel it has too much chlorine. Or we’ve heard rumors about lead or mercury. Maybe we live in a part of town where the streets are dirty, and that mysteriously makes us mistrust the water. And the water cooler we keep in the corner? It is relatively cheap and easy to maintain. The guy with the truck brings a new tank every week. When Vermont Pure or Vermont Heritage brings in their glistening, transparent tank, it feels like a healthier, smarter choice.

I encourage everyone to stop judging people who feel that way. We’ve all said it from time to time: “I’m not filling my canteen up at the smelly rest stop!” Instead of judging, I encourage everyone to ask “Why?” again carefully, and then ask, “Don’t you think you should do something about that?”

Here’s the real reason I’m writing this article: If you don’t trust your tap water, you have a problem. You either have a psychological problem, or you have a problem that (according to the articles I linked to above) over a billion people on this planet have. If you are an American, then you live in the richest country in the world, a country where safe tap water is considered a right, and a massive industry and governmental body is in place to guarantee you that right. In short: if you don’t trust your tap water, you should find out if your distrust is justified. And if it is, you should do something about it. And fast. Similarly, if a community thinks their tap water tastes bad, they should do something about it. And that something is not buying more Gatorade or Poland Springs. Chances are, however, that your water is just fine.

Turn the problem on its head. The next time you are thinking of buying the $1.79 bottle of Aqua-whatever, ask yourself why you aren’t asking for the restroom key instead. And come up with a real answer; the question is not rhetorical. All over this planet, people would be happy for a faucet that delivers any kind of safe water, and the family living next door to the gas station might not be able to afford that $1.79 every day. Is the right to “good” water determined by socioeconomic status, then? And are you okay with that? And are you willing to continue damaging mother earth, wasting a valuable natural resource, and polluting the environment because you can afford the plastic bottle? What does that say about our culture? About our water supply? What can you do to change that?

By the way, after sharing the three articles that I linked to at the top of this post, two of my colleagues agreed to join me in switching to the tap. (They were particularly interested in the proof that bottled water is rarely healthier and safer than the tap.) Spread the word, and if you have a problem with your community’s water, seek out the truth!