The world’s first fully electric plane has flown successfully for almost 15 minutes. The world’s first fully electric commercial aircraft took its first test flight on Tuesday, taking off from the Canadian city of Vancouver and offering hope that airlines may one day end their polluting emissions.

“This proves that commercial airmail in all-electric form can work,” said Roei Ganzarski, CEO of Seattle-based engineering firm MagniX. The company designed the plane’s motor and worked in partnership with Harbour Air, which carries half a million passengers a year between Vancouver, Whistler ski resort and nearby islands and coastal communities. Ganzarski said the technology would mean significant cost savings for airlines—not to mention zero emissions. “This signifies the start of the electric airmail age,” he told reporters.

Civil airmail is one of the fastest growing sources of carbon emissions as people increasingly take to the skies and new technologies have been slow to make remarkable progress. At 285 grammes of CO₂ emitted per kilometre (mile) travelled by each passenger, airline industry emissions far exceed those from all other transport, according to the European Environment Agency.

The e-plane—a 62-year-old, six-passenger DHC –2 de Havilland Beaver seaplane improved on with an electric motor—was piloted by Greg McDougall, founder and CEO of Harbour Air. “For me that flight was just like flying a Beaver, but it was a Beaver on electric steroids (电动兴奋剂). I actually had to turn off the power button,” he said. McDougall took the plane in a short circle along the Fraser River near Vancouver International Airport in front of around 100 onlookers soon after sunrise.

The number one thing you'll probably do is book your flight if you want to travel to another country. But in some countries, you won't be able to fly directly.

Vatican City, the smallest country in the world, as a 109-acre area in the middle of Rome, doesn't have its own airport, but visitors can easily get there via Italy's capital.

Similarly, San Marino, the fifth smallest country in the world, is also surrounded by Italian land. It has a population of a little more than 33,000 and sits just nine miles from Federico Fellini International Airport in Rimini, Italy.

The second-smallest country in the world is Monaco, with a population of more than 38, 500. To get there, you'll have to go through France's Nice Cote d' Azur Airport, which is just a 25-minute car ride away from Monaco. Perhaps that's why developers didn't bother creating anything like a short flight.

Interestingly enough, the third and fourth smallest countries, Nauru and Tuvalu have their own airports, but the fifth and sixth smallest don't We already mentioned San Marino, and to get to Liechtenstein, you'll have to go through Switzerland's St. Gallen-Altenrhein Airport, 24 miles away from the capital.

No such luck trying to fly into Andorra, which only requires a 25-mile drive to get from one end of the country to the other. Situated in a mountain range valley, Andorra has too much difficulty in building an airport runway. But for visitors there is no difficulty in going Andorra. Both Spain and France have access to Andorra. The closest way to Andorra's capital is Girona-Costa Brava Airport in Spain.

Sustainable Transport in Cities

Transporthas always shaped cities. In Medieval times crossroads gave birth to bloomingmarket towns. Many North American cities were created for the car. But how arethe cities of today being shaped by a need for more sustainable transport?

Manylocal governments are speeding up change through policy initiatives such asjoined transport, congestion charges and low emission zones, sustainablegaining and life-cycle costing, and opening data up to companies and academics.And these city level policies can move markets in more sustainable directions.【小题1】 This ha resulted in five vehicle manufacturers committing to meetingthat deadline, which is both in their own commercial interests and good for theenvironment.

The least dense cities, for example, Houston, have per capita（人均价）carbonemissions nearly ten times higher than the densest, such as Singapore. 【小题2】This involves gathering mixed use developments around a key transport center, as with the KL Central area in Kuala Lumpur, built around the largest railway station in Southeast Asia.

【小题3】Others are using motivations and behavioral change to encourage people to choose more efficient -- and often healthier -- forms of transport. Copen has a number of progressive cycling policies including the Green Wave, whichallows people cycling at 20km /h to hit all green lights during rush hour.

Light weighing and new engine and fuel technologies are helping to make existing road and rail vehicles more efficient. 【小题4】 The main options are hydrogen fuelcells, fossil fuel hybrids, and electric vehicles, and the best solution may well vary from city to city.