diff --git a/src/geoconvert.cc b/src/geoconvert.cc
index 4222c755423f3f89a81f474b3a01894840ab69c2..bc305d0d78be98d1cf6e3c27e7c79660c3bbec43 100644
--- a/src/geoconvert.cc
+++ b/src/geoconvert.cc
@@ -333,15 +333,15 @@ geometry_msgs::PointStamped GeoConvert::to_utm(geometry_msgs::PointStamped pin)
   string utm_frame_id = get_utm_frame_id();
   if (is_wgs84(pin.header.frame_id))
   {
-    double easting;
-    double northing;
+    double easting = 0.0;
+    double northing = 0.0;
     if (gps_convert_longlat_utm(pin.point.x, pin.point.y, 
               easting, northing)) {
       res.header.frame_id = utm_frame_id;
       res.point.x = easting;
       res.point.y = northing;
     } else {
-      cerr << "FAILED CONVERSION PointStamped to_utm";
+      // ROS_ERROR("FAILED CONVERSION PointStamped to_utm");
     }
   } else if (is_world(pin.header.frame_id))
   {