Much has been made of white-nose disease and its damaging effect on bat populations. I say, "Let 'em go."

  True, bats eat mosquitoes. Also true: You could live a lifetime and not meet one person who likes mosquitoes.

    However. We're not killing bats through recklessness or callousness. We're not killing them at all. (On the contrary, we've enacted laws against harming the little rabies spreaders.)

If humans were responsible for wiping out these flying mammals, it would be only sporting to repair the damage as best we could. But, unlike countless other species, bats seem to be dying without our help.    And unlike bees (beset by colony collapse), bats do nothing to keep us alive. So why rack our brains for ways to keep the little devils here?

    You have to wonder whether scientists and conservationists would get up in arms over the potential demise of the rat or spider. Well, OK, scientists and conservationists probably would. But sympathy—let alone funding—might prove scarce.

    We weren't around to intervene in the case of the dinosaur, and that worked out fine. Better than fine. They're gone and we're here, getting along quite well without 'em, thank you.   

   Buh-bye, winged freaks. It was frightening while it lasted, but it's time to send you flapping off into the sunrise.