BitGold...

These Bottled Water Brands Are LOADED with Plastic Particles

https://www.theorganicprepper.com/plastic-in-bottled-water/

These Bottled Water Brands Are LOADED with THOUSANDS of Plastic Particles: Is Your Favorite on the List?

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

by Daisy Luther

Many people try to make a better choice by drinking bottled water instead of tap water since the municipal water from our faucets is loaded with all sorts of chemicals and pollutants. Unfortunately, bottled water may not be that much better.

It's old news that some brands of bottled water are little more than tap water, but now there's new research that tells us it gets even worse than that. Each bottle of water could be contaminated with hundreds -or even thousands – of plastic particles, which we ingest every time we take a sip.

A study was performed on 250 bottles of water purchased in 9 different countries at the State University of New York in Fredonia. The following brands were tested:

A few of the brands tested were:

• Aquafina
• Dasani
• Arrowhead
• Boxed Water
• Crystal Geyser
• Evian
• Nestle Pure Life
• Deer Park
• Eternal Water
• Trader Joe's Mountain Spring
• San Pellegrino
• Aqua (Indonesia)
• Bisleri (India)
• Epura (Mexico)
• Gerolsteiner (Germany)
• Minalba (Brazil)
• Wahaha (China)
• Fiji
• Glaceau Smart
• Ice Mountain
• Icelandic Glacial
• Ozarka
• Penta
• Poland Spring
• Texas Spring Water
• True Zealand
• Zephyrhills

The results of the bottled water testing

93% of the water bottles had some contamination from plastic particles. The plastic particles were identified as 54% polypropylene, 16% nylon, 11% polystyrene 10% polyethylene, 6% polyester, and 3% other types of plastic.

One report said that the worst offenders in US brands were said to be Boxed Water, Fiji, Ozarka, Evian, Icelandic Glacial and Crystal Geyser.

An Australian news outlet posted the following chart with numbers on the highest and lowest counts of plastic in certain brands. Look at Nestle's high.

LOWEST/HIGHEST NUMBER OF PARTICLES FOUND PER LITRE, PER BRAND:

Aquafina: Lowest – 2, Highest – 1295

Dasani: Lowest – 2, Highest -335

Evian: Lowest – 0, Highest – 5230

Nestle Pure Life: Lowest – 6, Highest – 10390

San Pellegrino: Lowest – 0, Highest – 74

Interestingly, some bottles from the same case included widely varying amounts of plastic.

Orb Media, who performed the test, said:

Some of the bottles we tested contained so many particles that we asked a former astrophysicist to use his experience counting stars in the heavens to help us tally these fluorescing constellations.

Sizes ranged from the width of a human hair down to the size of a red blood cell. Some bottles had thousands. A few effectively had no plastic at all.

One bottle had a concentration of more than 10,000 particles per liter. (source)

What are the effects on human health?

It's actually the smaller particles that you have to be more worried about, according to this chart by Orb Media.

Save

photo credit: Orb Media

While you may be drinking bottled water to avoid contamination such as that found in the water of Flint, Michigan, it looks like you may be consuming a completely different type of contaminant.

Although we don't fully understand yet the health implications of consuming microplastic, [Abigail] Barrows says the preliminary results of this study are clear: "People are directly ingesting plastic particles when drinking most types of bottled water." (source)

I seriously doubt that drinking plastic particles is good for you, considering all the concern that plastic could be a major contributing factor to the cancer boom in the first world. (Learn more about what's in our water in my book, The Prepper's Water Survival Guide.)

Bottling companies refuted the findings

The BBC contacted some of the bottling companies to ask them what they thought about the tests performed by Orb Media.

Nestle told us its own internal testing for microplastics began more than two years ago and had not detected any "above trace level". A spokesman added that Prof Mason's study missed key steps to avoid "false positives" but he invited Orb Media to compare methods.

Gerolsteiner also said it had been testing its water for microplastics for a number of years and that the results showed levels "significantly below the limits for particles" set for pharmaceutical companies. It said it could not understand how Prof Mason's study reached its conclusions.

It also said its measures exceeded industry standards but added that microparticles are "everywhere" so "the possibility of them entering the product from ambient air or packaging materials during the bottling process can therefore not be completely ruled out".

Coca-Cola said it had some of the most stringent quality standards in the industry and used a "multi-step filtration process". But it too acknowledged that microplastics "appear to be ubiquitous and therefore may be found at minute levels even in highly treated products".

Danone said it could not comment on the study because "the methodology used is unclear" but added that its own bottles had "food grade packaging".

It pointed out that there are no regulations on microplastics or a scientific consensus on how to test for them, and it also highlighted a much smaller German study last year that found plastic particles in single use bottles but not above a statistically significant amount.

PepsiCo said Aquafina had "rigorous quality control measures sanitary manufacturing practices, filtration and other food safety mechanisms which yield a reliably safe product".

It described the science of microplastics as "an emerging field, in its infancy, which requires further scientific analysis, peer-reviewed research and greater collaboration across many stakeholders". (source)

Some articles noted that the plastic in the water was environmental, and not occurring at the factories, but isn't the reason people buy bottled water to get the environmental contaminants filtered out?

How can you ensure your water is safe?

Your very best bet for safe water is water that you filter yourself using a high-quality device. Clearly, it's impossible to trust the industry, which is probably of little surprise to most reading this website.

Sources for this article:

• https://orbmedia.org/stories/plus-plastic/
• https://www.9news.com.au/national/2018/03/15/11/10/bottled-water-brands-contain-plastic-particles-research
• http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-43388870
• http://malaysiandigest.com/world/728084-new-study-reveals-shocking-results-of-bottled-water-brands-with-highest-plastic-contamination.html

Save

About the Author

Daisy Luther

Please feel free to share any information from this site in part or in full, leaving all links intact, giving credit to the author and including a link to this website and the following bio. Daisy is a coffee-swigging, gun-toting, homeschooling blogger who writes about current events, preparedness, frugality, and the pursuit of liberty on her website, The Organic Prepper. Daisy is the publisher of The Cheapskate's Guide to the Galaxy, a monthly frugality newsletter, and she curates all the most important news links on her aggregate site, PreppersDailyNews.com. She is the best-selling author of 4 books and lives in the mountains of Virginia with her two daughters and an ever-growing menagerie. You can find Daisy on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

Your body knows...

Your sophisticated physical body exists because of the intelligence of your cells. And the intelligence of your cells exists because of their Connection to Source Energy. When doctors and scientists try to find cures for diseases without taking into consideration the Vibrational relationship between the physical Being and Source Energy, they are looking for cures in all the wrong places. If the resistance that disallowed the Well-Being to begin with is not released, it will show up in the form of another and another disease. Your cells, because of their connection to the intelligence of Source Energy, know exactly what to do in order to become the incredible variety of functioning cells in your magnificent physical body. And in the absence of the hindrance that is caused by your resistant negative thought, that communication stays open to clear, up-to-the-moment interaction, keeping your physical body at peak and perfect performance. In the absence of negative emotion—and therefore the allowance of complete alignment and communication with Source Energy—your physical body can reclaim its balance and recover from any imbalance. And once balance has resumed, it is easy to maintain with consistently good-feeling thoughts.

~A.

Maintenance Strategies: Is There a Simple Solution? - Reliabilityweb: A Culture of Reliability

Gotta love reliability!
https://reliabilityweb.com/articles/entry/maintenance-strategies-is-there-a-simple-solution?utm_source=ReliabilityMaster&utm_campaign=7f1891b658-RWEEKLY_NEWSLETTER_2018_03_14&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_782f993e2e-7f1891b658-220449041

Maintenance Strategies: Is There a Simple Solution?

Preventive
Predictive
Proactive
Run to failure
Reactive

No doubt you have heard these terms, read articles and attended workshops and seminars to learn about these strategies. Using this information, you've discovered which ones will make your maintenance program more effective, reduce labor hours, reduce costs, increase equipment availability and ultimately improve production.

Based on experience gained from being around maintenance shops for many years, visiting with people in a variety of industries and talking with maintenance professionals around the globe, the conclusion formed is: There is a right time and a right place for each of these strategies.

Preventive Maintenance

For years, maintenance professionals relied on preventive maintenance strategies to take action on a prescribed interval, such as days, hours, miles or tons hauled. On a predetermined interval, they took action to drain and fill oils or replace an engine, transmission, or gearbox. They did so without regard for the condition of the oil or whether or not the component was running well. The thought was, if you maintain it on a time based interval, you won't have to work on it tomorrow as an unscheduled event.

Predictive Maintenance

Then came a time when maintenance shifted toward a predictive or conditioned based strategy. This approach requires the use of nondestructive, noninvasive testing, such as vibration analysis, thermal imaging, ultrasound and oil analysis. It also includes monitoring work order history, the number of operator complaints, dollars spent on minor repairs and the frequency of those repairs.

One might look and immediately come to the conclusion that predictive maintenance is the strategy that should be followed. After all, "If it isn't broke, don't fix it!" However, there are times when a predictive maintenance approach might not be the proper method.

Let's look at a scenario of a gear pump in a minor circuit or as a support piece of equipment. In this scenario:

• The oil capacity is minimal.
• Oil changes are easy to perform and are not labor intensive.
• The cost of the gear pump replacement is minimal.
• A replacement gear pump is readily available.
• There will not be a significant impact to production.
• There are no safety concerns associated to the failure.

Do the benefits of predictive maintenance outweigh the run to failure or preventive approach?

Would following a predictive maintenance strategy be the correct choice, or should you, perhaps, consider a run to failure or preventive maintenance strategy?

In this scenario, it is important to consider the cost of nondestructive testing and the labor hours involved. The question to consider is: Do the benefits of predictive maintenance outweigh the run to failure or preventive approach?

On a side note, a strictly predictive approach offers some challenges, compared to a preventive approach, when trying to forecast and prepare next year's maintenance budget. That, however, is a topic for another day.

Proactive Maintenance

The proactive maintenance approach can be used in combination with any of the other maintenance strategies, although many would argue that this is a "stand-alone" maintenance strategy. With this approach, you look at the root cause of both impending failures and an analysis of failures that have already occurred. You look beyond symptoms and look at root causes, such as incorrect lubricants, faulty rebuild practices specific to the part of the rebuild procedure that was incorrect, contamination control practices, etc. You then focus on a remedy for these root causes for the purpose of extending component life hours and preventing future or catastrophic failures.

Run to Failure

While on the surface it does not sound like a "strategy," run to failure can be the correct maintenance decision in some circumstances. For components that are at the end if their lifecycle, you simply want to get every hour of operation out of the component as you can, and you are not concerned with loss of core. If this is a route you choose, you will want to ensure you are prepared with a replacement already on-hand and willing to accept the risk of the disruptions in scheduled maintenance that is likely to occur when the failure happens. If this is a strategy you choose, keep in mind that nondestructive testing, such as fluid analysis, can still be very useful in helping predict when the failure will occur.

Reactive Maintenance

Every maintenance professional would like to greatly reduce or eliminate reactive maintenance, that unplanned, unscheduled event that catches you by surprise and disrupts everything you had planned for the day. This type of maintenance often leads to a visit from an unhappy owner, operations superintendent, plant manager, or customer. Despite all your efforts of preventive, predictive, or proactive maintenance, these unplanned events happen regardless of which maintenance strategy, or combination of strategies, you decide upon. Reduction in reactive maintenance events is your goal and you should pursue a path of continuous improvement.

How to Decide Which Maintenance Strategy Is Best for Your Organization

First, it is important to do an honest evaluation of how well your current maintenance program is performing and identify the areas that need improvement. Evaluate a few of the major maintenance repairs you routinely perform today. Then, perform a cost analysis of an average cost of repair under a scheduled/planned event in comparison to an unscheduled, reactive maintenance event.

Figure 1: Cost analysis example of an engine repair in a long-haul truck

Figure 1 is a cost analysis example of an engine repair in a long-haul truck. Under the scheduled repair scenario, oil analysis results alerted maintenance of abnormal early stage bearing wear. The driver was immediately contacted to return to a local maintenance facility and maintenance repairs were scheduled and performed. The cost of these repairs were then compared to a scenario where the truck continued to run until there is oil pressure loss and the driver notices the check engine light is on, resulting in an unscheduled/reactive maintenance event.

Other considerations when evaluating your current maintenance strategy include:

• Are you experiencing a high number of unscheduled/unplanned maintenance events?
• Are you having difficulty completing all of your scheduled work?
• Do you have cost overruns or are you exceeding your maintenance budget?
• Does production suffer due to equipment being down for reactive maintenance?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then it is definitely time to reevaluate your program. One of the best ways to do this is to create, monitor and share informative key performance indicators (KPIs). Figures 2 through 5 show examples of a few useful KPIs.

Figure 2: KPI example of scheduled vs. unscheduled work

Figure 3: KPI example of scheduled work completion rate

Figure 4: KPI example of mean time between failures (MTBF) vs. mean time to repair (MTTR)

Figure 5: KPI example of total loss of production in cost

Once you have the information in hand and have created a gap analysis of where your program is today compared to where you would like it to be, you will then be able to make a decision on what type of maintenance strategy, or combination of strategies, will best meet the needs of your organization. What worked best for you yesterday may not be the best approach to reach tomorrow's goals.

---

Randy Clark

Randy Clark, Technical Business Consultant at POLARIS Laboratories, has over 30 years of experience in heavy equipment maintenance and maintenance management. Randy's experience includes mining, heavy haul, construction and over-the-road fleets, which he uses to help customers improve their maintenance and reliability practices. He holds certifications as a Machine Lubricant Analyst Level 2 and Certified Oil Monitoring Analyst, Level 1. www.polarislabs.com

Sent from my iPad

4 personal care products you can pitch in the trash (and replace with something much better) – NaturalNews.com

https://www.naturalnews.com/2018-03-12-4-personal-care-products-you-can-pitch-in-the-trash-and-replace-with-something-much-better.html

4 personal care products you can pitch in the trash (and replace with something much better)

Derek Henry

(Natural News) It can be a tough pill to swallow to discover that nearly everything we have been eating, drinking, breathing, and putting on our skin has been laced with toxic ingredients that have zero value for our bodies. However, it's even tougher to deal with the fall-out of these poisons if we don't adjust our lifestyle to avoid them as much as possible.

So, what can you do?

Well, if you'd rather not be an ostrich and want to pull your head out of the sand, take note of these four toxic daily offenders, then toss any you have in the trash. Replace them with cleaner and safer personal care products, like the ones recommended below.

Conventional toothpaste

The real purpose of toothpaste isn't to keep your teeth white (hint: proper mineralization of the body helps make teeth white), but rather, to keep unfriendly bacteria off your teeth and gums so they can remain infection free and healthy. Unfortunately, the conventional toothpaste industry fills their formulas with toxic ingredients, so every time you brush your teeth, you're likely to get a dose of the following:

• Triclosan – an antibacterial chemical that has been linked to hormonal disorders.
• Fluoride – a toxic industrial waste product that promotes neurological damage.
• Sodium Laurel Sulfate – a chemical responsible for the foaming action of toothpaste (that has zero value to the health of your teeth) and has been linked to skin irritations and hormone disruption.
• Artificial Sweeteners – dangerous chemicals that promote neurological damage.
• Propylene Glycol – a known skin, eye, and lung irritant.

With your mouth being highly absorbent, any of these chemicals can be fast-tracked into your bloodstream, which by-passes many of the body's natural detoxification pathways (bad news for the rest of your body). This is why a less conventional approach to dental health is often a healthier option.

If you to want to escape the damage of conventional toothpastes and get one that supports strong oral health, look into the Health Ranger Select Toothsalt with Neem.

Conventional deodorant

Conventional deodorants are a ticking time bomb for health issues, and we're just now starting to see some of the negative health effects of putting toxic chemicals on our skin every single day. Some of the worst offenders in these deodorants include:

• Aluminum – a toxic heavy metal that is added (and not always labelled) to block pores and prevent sweating.
• Tricoslan – used for its antibacterial qualities, it's a chemical linked to hormonal disorders.
• Parabens – used as preservatives, they bioaccumulate and are endocrine disruptors.
• Propylene Glycol – used to seal in moisture, it's known to dry out and irritate the skin.
• Triethanolamine (TEA) and diethanolamine (DEA) – chemical compounds used as emulsifiers, they can cause liver and kidney damage.

Of course this can all be avoided through natural deodorants that avoid these harmful chemicals and add ingredients that actually benefit the skin and the body. A good example is the Health Ranger Select Magnesium Liquid Deodorant, which is pure, effective, and chock full of nourishing ingredients.

Conventional sunscreen

There has been a lot of talk about how the sun causes damage to the body, but evidence suggests that what we put on our skin to protect us from the sun may indeed be more harmful.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) conducted research on nine FDA-approved sunscreen chemicals and found that several of them posed moderate to high toxicity concerns. Oxybenzone posed the biggest threat with one percent to nine percent skin penetration, and being detected in nearly every American and even found in mothers' milk. It has been shown to be an endocrine disruptor and to cause relatively high rates of skin allergies. Octinoxate was also rated as a higher toxicity concern, also being found in mothers' milk and affecting the reproductive system and the thyroid, along with a moderate skin allergy concern.  Both have widespread use in U.S. sunscreens.

Other ingredients that were a cause for concern were homosalate, octisalate, and octocrylene, all with widespread use in U.S. sunscreens and having skin penetration.

The important thing to take away from this is that the sun is not your enemy, and responsible exposure is necessary for good health. However, when you need to block the suns rays, it's important to get a sunscreen without any of these toxic chemicals, along with skin supporting nutrients that help maintain your skin's moisture.

Check out the Health Ranger's Sunstick Broad Spectrum for adequate protection without the toxicity and some skin replenishing nutrients to boot.

Conventional skin care products

The skin care industry has been doing a terrible disservice to humankind, mostly women, who put these toxic ingredients on their face and body every single day. In this effort to look more beautiful, these consumers often end up dealing with bigger concerns after the fall-out from bioaccumulation of these toxic skin care ingredients.

There is a laundry list of chemicals in these types of products to avoid, but some of the key ones to look for and avoid include:

• Parabens – preservatives used to prevent bacteria they contain estrogen-mimicking properties that are associated with breast cancer.
• Synthetic colors – represented by FD&C or D&C (e.g. D&C Red or FD&C Blue 1), these colors are petroleum derivatives that are suspected to be carcinogenic.
• Fragrance – shown to cause issues with skin, lungs, and immune system health.
• Phthalates – used to increase flexibility and softness in plastics, they are known to be endocrine disruptors.
• Triclosan – an antimicrobial chemical and known endocrine disruptor.
• Sodium Lauryl Sulfate – used to create foaming action, this surfactant is known to be a skin, lung, and eye irritant.
• Formaldehyde – used to prevent bacteria growth, this chemical has been deemed a carcinogen.
• Toluene – a petrochemical also listed as benzene, toluol, phenylmethane, and methylbenzene. It can affect your respiratory system, cause nausea, and irritate the skin.
• Propylene glycol – known to penetrate the skin and has been associated with dermatitis and hives in humans.

For more information on toxins in cosmetics, visit Cosmetics.News.

Again, like the others, these ingredients are completely unnecessary and dangerous to humans. Fortunately, there are completely safe skin care products on the market that eliminate these ingredients and use nourishing plant extracts to not only save your skin, but feed it essential nutrients. Try the Health Ranger's organic skin care line for safe, yet highly effective, skin care.

Now that you know better, and have committed to avoiding costly mistakes with personal care products that can ruin your health, go ahead and pitch them in the trash bin and pick up some new ones that will make you feel radiant, and safer from various health issues.

You're definitely worth it.

Sources for this article include:

Healing the Body

Naturalnews.com

EWG.org

Huffingtonpost.com

~A.

https://futurism.com/chemical-treatment-water-safe/

A New Chemical Treatment Could Make Water Safe to Drink for Months

Scientists at Lithuania's Kaunas University of Technology have come up with a new method to purify water and keep it clean for months.

Currently, purifying water is fairly easy. Most tourists traveling to exotic destination will keep purifying tablets in their bag along with other ordinary supplies such as bandages or malaria pills. What we haven't quite managed to achieve is a way to make sure that the water we clean today is going to stay drinkable tomorrow, or next week. This is because new bacteria can get in contact with it and contaminate it again, something scientists call "secondary contamination".

The Lithuanian team sought to address just that, and early tests suggest that their method is so effective it kills off microbes for over three months. The researchers, which chose not to share  their methodology's details but explained their results, observed that microbes did not breed in drinking water stored in the open after the application of the purification technique, and found that the purified water did not taste or smell any different from standard drinking water from the tap.

Not only is their solution particularly successful, it also operates using a very low concentration of active ingredients, in this case silver.

Silver has been used to purify water as far back as Ancient Rome. However, there are lingering worries about its potential toxicity when consumed in high concentrations, as outlined in a 2014 literature review published by the World Health Organization. In particular, silver is known to be dangerous for the liver.

Some domestic water filtration systems do use silver, but the team wants to make their technology available in liquid and tablet form, so it can be utilized in difficult circumstances like military operations.  Since these methods are designed to be mixed in with water, the concentration of active ingredients is extremely important.

The technique has now been patented, with a prototype for industrial use ready for implementation. Although the treatment is still in its early stages, the researchers believe that their method has the potential to become so cost-effective that it could soon be scaled up and employed in the bottled water industry.

~A.

21 technology tipping points we will reach by 2030 - Business Insider Nordic

http://nordic.businessinsider.com/21-technology-tipping-points-we-will-reach-by-2030-2016-12/

21 technology tipping points we will reach by 2030

Google

From driverless cars to robotic workers, the future is going to be here before you know it.

Many emerging technologies you hear about today will reach a tipping point by 2025, according to a report from The World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on the Future of Software & Society.

The council surveyed more than 800 executives and experts from the technology sector to share their respective timelines for when technologies would become mainstream.

From the survey results, the council identified 21 defining moments, all of which they predict will occur by 2030.

Here's a look at the technological shifts you can expect during the next 14 years.

90% of the population will have unlimited and free data storage by 2018.

Google

Deleting files to make room for files is going to become a thing of the past.  In less than three years, about 90% of people will have unlimited and free data storage that will ultimately be ad-supported, according to the report. 

We are already seeing some companies offer cheap or completely free service. For example, Google Photos already offers unlimited storage for photos and Amazon will let you store an unlimited amount of whatever you want for just $60 a year. 

A big reason companies can do this is because hard drive cost per gigabyte continues to fall. This has spurred more data to be created than ever before. According to the report, it's estimated about 90% of all data has been created in just the last two years. 

Still, there are signs this may not be the case. Microsoft recently killed its plan that offered unlimited storage on its cloud service OneDrive. 

The first robotic pharmacist will arrive in the US 2021.

United States Navy

Robots already have a big presence in the manufacturing industry, but as they become more advanced we will see them enter new service-oriented jobs.

In fact, respondents predict that by 2021, we will even have the first robot pharmacist in the US.

1 trillion sensors will be connected to the internet by 2022.

Thingful

As the cost of sensors continues to decline and computing power increases, all kinds of devices will increasingly become connected to the internet. From the clothes you wear to the ground you walk on, everything will come online.

According to the report, it's predicted 1 trillion sensors will be connected as early as 2022. "Every (physical) product could be connected to ubiquitous communication infrastructure, and sensors everywhere will allow people to fully perceive their environment."

10% of the world's population will be wearing clothes connected to the internet by 2022.

easyJet

Cars, appliances, and other everyday objects are increasingly becoming more connected to the internet. And not too long from now, even the clothes on our back will get a connection.

By 2022, experts predict that 10% of people will be wearing clothing with embedded chips that connects them to the internet.

This isn't really too surprising seeing as a number of accessories — including watches and rings— are already becoming connected. 

The first 3D-printed car will be in production by 2022.

Local Motors

3D printers are increasingly becoming more powerful and capable of printing complex objects from all kinds of materials. Many car companies are already using 3D printing to create prototypes and to more efficiently create specific parts of a vehicle. 

Most recently, Audi showed off a miniature vehicle it created using its metal printers. And the automotive startup Local Motors is aiming to begin production on a full-size car using 3D printing in the next few years. The company has already created several prototypes, and plans to sell a production model (shown above).

The first implantable mobile phone will become commercially available in 2025.

Dangerous Things

Being attached to your smartphone may take on a whole new meaning by 2023.

About 80% of respondents predict that in seven years, the first implantable mobile phone will become commercially available. The device will potentially be able to track a person's health more accurately, while also allowing them to communicate thoughts via brainwaves or signal instead of verbally, according to the report. 

Implantable health devices, like pacemakers and cochlear implants, have already become more mainstream. And it's likely we'll see more widespread adoption of implantable technologies emerge before 2025.

The first government will replace its census with big-data technologies by 2023.

Flickr/Escola Santa Anna

As collecting, managing, and understanding data becomes easier, governments may move away from old methods of collecting information and begin to rely more on big data technologies to automate programs. 

According to the report, this is going to happen sooner than later. More than 80% of respondents estimate that the first government will replace the census with big-data systems by 2023. 

Some countries, including Canada, have already began experimenting with pulling back on traditional census methods; however, no country has completely replaced the system yet. 

10% of reading glasses will be connected to the internet by 2023.

Flickr/Com Salud Agencia de comunicación

Interacting with the world around you will become a lot different when connected glasses become more common.

86% of survey respondents predict connected eyewear will become common by 2023. The technology will allow wearers to have direct access to internet applications optimized for an enhanced or augmented reality experience. Eye-tracking technology will also let them to control the interface hands-free.

Google, of course, already introduced similar technology with Google Glass and is currently working on connected contact lenses.

80% of people on earth will have a digital presence online by 2023.

Reuters/Dado Ruvic

More people will gain a digital identity as internet connectivity becomes more prevalent.

Respondents estimate that by 2023, more than 80% of the global population will have a digital presence. According to the report "digital life is becoming inextricably linked with a person's physical life," and will only continue to grow in importance.

Companies like Facebook and Google are pushing this effort ahead with various projects to connect remote parts of the world to the internet. 

A government will collect taxes for the first time via blockchain 2023.

Wikimedia/Deavmi

Digital currencies, like Bitcoin, use a mechanism called the blockchain to perform transactions. The blockchain is essentially a shared public ledger that everyone can inspect and no single person controls. Those using the system keep it up to date to continuously keep track of transactions.

The blockchain technology, though, holds promise beyond Bitcoin. Some have proposed using the technology for public databases, like titles to land or other goods. According to recent article from the Economist, the NASDAQ is even about to start using the technology to record trading in securities of private companies.

Blockchain technology is expected to reach its tipping point in the next few years, and by 2023, it's predicted that the first government will collect taxes using the technology.

90% of the global population will have a supercomputer in their pocket by 2023.

Flickr/Ken Walton

Around the world people are increasingly using their smartphones more than PCs, and in developing nations people are becoming connected to the internet for the first time via their mobile phone. As smartphones gain computing power and the price continues to fall, the speed of adoption will only accelerate.

The number of global smartphone subscribers is estimated to breach 50% penetration by 2017, and by 2023, about 90% of the population will be connected via smartphone.

Access to the internet will become a basic right by 2024.

Thomson Reuters

According to the survey, 79% of respondents predict that by 2024, most of the world will have regular internet access.

Tech giants like Google and Facebook are currently coming up with creative solutions to connect the remaining 4 billion people who don't have access to the internet. Facebook's Internet.org is using drones to beam internet down to Earth from satellites and Google's Project Loon is using giant balloons that float in the atmosphere to connect remote parts of the world.

The first transplant of a 3D-printed liver will occur by 2024.

Courtesy of Shapeways

3D printers are already increasingly used in the healthcare industry to create human parts, like bone replacements and organ implants. Doctors have already used 3D printing to create part of a patient's rib cage and other bone implants. 

But bioprinting, which combines bioengineering with 3D printing, will also enable researchers and others in the healthcare industry to grow usable artificial organs. 

By 2024, more than 50% of internet traffic to homes will be from appliances and devices.

Nest

As more sensors are deployed and more products become connected to the internet, we will see a big shift in internet traffic.

Currently, most of the internet traffic in home is for personal consumption, whether it be for communication or entertainment. But by 2024, about half of the internet in the home will be used for home automation purposes.

5% of consumer products will be 3D printed.

Peter MacDiarmid/Getty Images

3D printing, also know as additive manufacturing, has already made a lot of inroads with designers and in the manufacturing industry. 

But as the printers become less expensive, more powerful, and easier to use, consumers will also increasingly adopt the technology. This will enable them to print things at home on demand. 

Demand for the technology has already grown more than it was expected. In 2014, there were 133,000 3D printers sold worldwide, which is a 68% increase from 2013. 

30% of corporate audits will be performed by artificial intelligence by 2025.

World Economic Forum

AI will increasingly replace a range of jobs performed by people today, including white collar jobs. Because artificial intelligence is so effective when it comes to matching patterns and automating processes, it's well suited to perform many tasks in large organizations, according to the report.

According to recent research from the McKinsey Global Institute, about 45% of activities people are paid to perform can be automated by adapting current technologies. This represents about $2 trillion in annual wages in the US.

But it's not only low-income, low-skill workers that will be at risk. According to the McKinsey research, "even the highest-paid occupations in the economy, such as financial managers, physicians, and senior executives, including CEOs, have a significant amount of activity that can be automated."

By 2025, AI used in white-collar jobs is expected to reach a tipping point and about 30% of corporate audits will be performed by AI.

Globally, more trips will be made using car-sharing programs than privately-owned cars by 2025.

Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Stringer/Getty Images

The sharing economy has taken off in a big way over the last few years thanks to online marketplaces and mobile apps. But perhaps the best example of the sharing economy in action is in the transportation sector.

Services like Uber, Lyft, and Zipcar have changed how people think about transportation and car ownership. It's also forced auto manufacturers to rethink their business models.

By 2025, 67% of respondents predict that the sharing economy will have grown to the point that more rides taken globally are actually via a car-sharing service, and not by a privately-owned car.

Driverless cars will account for 10% of all cars in the US by 2026.

AP

Autonomous cars have the potential to dramatically increase safety, decrease emissions, and change models of transportation.

Tech companies like Google and Uber, as well as traditional automakers like Toyota, General Motors, and Volkswagen, are all currently working on self-driving cars. But respondents predict that it will be 2026 before the 10% of all cars are driverless in the US.

The first AI machine will join a corporate board of directors 2026.

Shutterstock/ GaudiLab

Artificial intelligence will increasingly play a more important role in the business world as a decision making tool.

Because AI can learn from previous situations, it can provide insight and automate complex decision process based on data and past experiences. This means that robots won't just replace low-wage, low-income jobs. As AI and robotics evolve, we will see more white-collar jobs also begin to be replaced. 

According to the survey, the technology will get so advanced that the first AI machine will become part of a corporate board of directors by 2026.

The first city with more than 50,000 people and no traffic lights will come into existence by 2026.

Siemens

Infrastructure will also become more connected in the future, giving way to more smart cities. Everything from the sidewalk and streets to the traffic lights and buildings will be connected to the internet.

Smart cities, like a smart home, will be automated capable of managing their "energy, material flows, logistics and traffic," according to the report.

The evolution of connected infrastructure will bring about the first city with a population of 50,000 people and no traffic lights by 2026, according to the report.

By 2027, 10% of global gross domestic product will be stored using blockchain technology.

Bogdan Cristel/Reuters

As blockchain technology takes off, more money will be stored using the technology.

According to the report, the total worth of Bitcoin in the blockchain is around $20 billion, or about 0.025% of global GDP of around $80 trillion. By 2027, about 10% of the global GDP will be stored using blockchain.

Related articles

~A.