Gauging Success

In January, Sierra magazine wrote about Savannah Walters, an amazing 13-year-old from Odessa, Florida. A slide show in the third grade inspired her to start a group called Pump 'em Up. Its mission: To get Americans to save energy by properly inflating their tires.

Underinflated tires wear faster and require more energy to turn. According to the Department of Energy, proper tire inflation can increase fuel mileage by 3 percent or more. As Savannah points out, the potential savings are huge: Roughly 4 million gallons of gas each day!

Impressed by the youngster's initiative, Sears, Firestone, and Goodyear donated a thousand tire gauges, and suddenly Savannah and her friends were in business, handing out gauges and flyers for free. Sierra thought it was great that someone so young was doing so much.

But that was just the beginning. NBC News saw the Sierra story and put Savannah on TV this spring. Soon her organization was getting emails from all over the country, including this one from Phillip L. Sumner, who works for Masterfoods, the company that makes Snickers and M&Ms:

Hi Savannah:

I saw about five seconds of an interview with you on the national news. I think you have great idea and I want to participate. So I found your Web site and began to implement your program.

I have installed an air hose reel with built-in pressure gauge in our main parking lot. I now have a dedicated parking space painted to represent environmental awareness. My team of volunteers has purchased 350 tire gauges to be given away on April 21. We will be checking tires and educating all associates at our facility as to the environmental impact associated with underpressurized tires.

In Savannah's honor, Sumner hung a Pump 'em Up banner over the Masterfoods parking space. If one thirteen-year-old can make all this happen, well ... I gotta go check my tires.