Im in the Atlantic Ocean off Rockaway Beach in New York, on a 36-degree day in mid-January. The last few years have seen dozens of studies citing the benefits of cold-water swimming for longevity. If I don't get hypothermia, I may live forever. That's not why I'm splashing in the ocean in a Speedo, though, with 20 other swimmers.
I'm risking death by freezing because I'm contemplating our most fetishized and most threatened natural resource.
And what better vantage from which to do it? "As Coleridge said: 'Water, water, everywhere, / Nor any drop to drink," I observe through chattering teeth to a fellow swimmer, attired in a string bikini and black neoprene booties. Before I can explain that I'm being both literal and metaphorical, I realize that I can't feel my feet.
I'm referring to humanity's water crisis. In one sense, we live at peak water-in thalassic terms, you might call it the crest of a wave. The global market for bottled water is worth over $300 billion. Stanley cups-extra-large adult sippy vessels required for #WaterTok-have gone viral, with a Cosmo Pink Galentine's Day drop listed for $250 on Poshmark.
On the other hand, all the hype obscures a fact: The future of water must look different than the past. Not only because of obvious portents of climate change-see: a flooded Los Angeles in February, or a 2023 drought that cut Spain's olive oil production in half.
This January, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences released a study that found the average liter of bottled water contains about 240,000 bits of micro- and nanoplastics. (A quick primer from the Ocean Conservancy's Anja Brandon, PhD: "Nanoplastics are the next size down from microplastics the vast majority are secondary microplastics that shed from other plastics or break down in the environment."
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Denne historien er fra April 2024-utgaven av Vogue US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Trust Your Gut - New at-home biome tests offer insight into the microorganisms that rule much more than just our stomachs.
According to a publication called Nutrition in Clinical Practice, these days, internet searches for "gut microbiome" and "gut microbiota" generate millions of results. Amazon teems with microbiome books, including microbiome books for kids- Meena and the Microbiome (forthcoming in 2025) and dogs- Healthy Gut, Healthy Dog. Gut health is taking over TikTok. Scan your refrigerator for the word "probiotic". Brands are shilling directly to your bacteria!
The First Wild Garden - A new book celebrates the historic English garden that launched a modern movement.
Without naming the most grotesque examples of tree mutilation in England, it is clear that much beauty is lost in our gardens by the stupid and ignorant practice of cutting trees into unnatural shapes,” wrote the Victorian-era gardener William Robinson in Gravetye Manor: Or Twenty Years’ Work round an Old Manor House (1911). Robinson’s fighting words were laid out in the preface to his book, an account of the decades he spent creating his garden at the Elizabethan house of Gravetye Manor in Sussex, England, and recently reproduced in facsimile by Rizzoli alongside stunning contemporary photographs.
Clean Sweep- Two seasons into her tenure at Carven, Louise Trotter is reimagining the label with pieces at once mindful, freeand beautiful.
Two seasons into her tenure at Carven, Louise Trotter is reimagining the label with pieces at once mindful, freeand beautiful. In February of last year, Trotter took up the role of creative director at the 79-year-old maison, reawakening it from a five-year slumber, and a chauffeur—customary for an artistic director at the helm of a Parisian fashion house—simply doesn’t fly with her bluff Sunderland upbringing.
Testament of Youth
In a new production of Romeo and Juliet, Jack Antonoff, Rachel Zegler, Kit Connor, and Sam Gold transform a classic into a timely, urgent work.
GLOWING UP FAST
I’m slick as an otter. I’m greased up like a Thanksgiving turkey
TIME'S ARROW
A celebrated Broadway-bound play by Jez Butterworth, The Hills of California, captures the youthful ambitions and dashed dreams of a quartet of English sisters.
The Shape of Things
Annabelle Selldorf has built a soaring career on gentle interventions, subtle forms—a design language of elegance and restraint. Dodie Kazanjian meets the architect of our moment.
SWING SHIFT
With the election of their lifetimes looming on the horizon, eight models— each of them with ties to a battleground state—tell us what’s important to them, what they’re fighting for, where they’re voting, and how they’re finding value and purpose in uneasy times.
Walk This Spray
Scented runways are the latest merger of perfume and fashion
Hidden Gems
With its timeworn cities and sweeping seascapes, the Southern Italian region of Basilicata is rich with splendors.
