EQF...Stuffit expander can probably expand tar.gz files. You can get at least a 30 day version free on-line. I think the expander part should be free period, but for some reason I just bought the full version yesterday for $20. Can find this easily online. It turns out that a >1 gigabyte file of seismic reflection data won't unstuff (it is a "tar" file) even though another file in same format worked. I'll have to re-download the file when I get to UCSB next week.
As for education vs alternate energy, sure, you have a point, but it is silly to think that you had a great impact on getting them going on this...they have talked about it forever, and the price of oil, and some people taking global warming seriously now, that may result in a stronger effort.
Chris