Alexandria, Virginia - 2 June 2010 - While the technology has existed since the late 1940s, geothermal heat pumps (GHPs), also known as ground-source heat pumps and GeoExchange®, currently account for less than two percent of the total North American heating and cooling market. Only 120,000 units were shipped in the United States in 2008. But, what if the numbers were higher? What if GHPs were installed wherever they made economic and geographic sense? How would a nationwide deployment of these green heating and cooling systems benefit the country economically, environmentally, and socially?