Can I switch between synthetic and conventional oil?

Yes, it’s possible to switch between them, although it’s best to follow your vehicle’s manufacturer recommendations. If your car is older, consult a mechanic before making a switch.

Is synthetic oil worth the extra cost?

In most cases, yes—especially if you want longer intervals between changes and better protection. For frequent drivers or those in extreme climates, the investment often pays off.

How often should I change synthetic oil?

Many full synthetic oils are rated for up to 10,000 miles between changes, but always check your vehicle’s maintenance guide for specifics.

What is Urban Warming and How is LA Fighting it?

By Kayleigh DeMace on Oct 18 2017

Urban heat islands, also called urban warming, is becoming more and more common. Lately, cities have been working to combat the effects with some preeeetty —cool methods.

What is Urban Warming?

Urban warming occurs in metropolitan or urban areas where human activities essentially make everything warmer than usual.

Typically, the differences in temperature are most apparent at night, when it's not too windy, in summer, and in winter.

So, what causes it? We mentioned human activity, but it's typically related to modifications to the area made by humans.

Today the @LAGreatStreets crew applied CoolPavement coating to Lord St in CD14 10 degrees cooler! @josehuizar pic.twitter.com/mDLiHzlkWB

— LA Street Services (@BSSLosAngeles) July 23, 2017

You can see it in weather reports sometimes— cities tend to be warmer than nearby rural areas. —This is because of the tightly knit layout of dark buildings and pavement. All of these structures and surfaces store heat from the sun. They then emit the heat and warm the entire city.

It's also believed that the lack of plant life in cities, which can provide shade and evaporative cooling, plays a part in higher temperatures. Green roofs are a part of efforts to lower temperatures as well. This is where buildings have gardens and shrubbery atop their buildings to absorb and re-release some of the sun's heat.

A lot of cities are working to fight the effects of urban warming by changing their environment. Recently, LA joined in on a trend that involves changing the color of their streets.

You can't fry an egg on this pavement ...

Los Angeles has introduced an innovative solution to the problem: white streets. Let's go back to basic science class here for a second: black absorbs light/heat, and white reflects it/cools things down. So this just makes sense.

The project is called Cool Pavements and it's already underway, currently on 15 of the city's streets. While it isn't pure white but a light-gray color, LA is already seeing the benefits.

Stories on LA's Cool Pavement have appeared in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Finnish. Estonian, Hungarian, Polish + Chinese Thks @AFP pic.twitter.com/IwrOu9E8wT

— LA Street Services (@BSSLosAngeles) August 15, 2017

It's asphalt-based, and it's helping to lower the temperatures on the roads and in surrounding buildings. It's been proven to lower temperatures by 10 degrees or more, which helps to lower the risk of heat-related deaths and illness and lower energy costs.

Typically, streets in the US can reach temperatures of up to 150 F. That is trapped in the pavement throughout the day and released overnight, which causes those warmer, night-time temperatures characteristic of urban warming in heat islands.

These efforts are being implemented in other places in CA as well, and in the past homeowners were offered rebates for painting their roofs white.