On "The X-Files," the former TV series, FBI agent and paranormal investigator Fox Mulder had a poster of a UFO on his office wall with the legend "I want to believe" plastered on the bottom. Because strange things happened to Agent Mulder every week, he had more than enough confirmation that something was out there, even if he couldn't always explain it.

But UFO enthusiasts in Britain are losing faith in the notion that aliens or interdimensional travelers are among us. The Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena, a British group, reports UFO sightings have dropped 96 percent since 1988.

The lack of cases concerns those who attend UFO conferences to chew over the details of the so-called Roswell Incident of 1947 and other notorious episodes from the last century. In the era of YouTube, when everyone carries cell phones with cameras, the absence of compelling new evidence of alien visitation is worrisome.

The number of groups doing UFO research is also dwindling, from 100-plus in the 1990s to 30 today. Believers need something more than anecdotes to justify the time and resources it takes to make the long slog to the next UFO conference. Many UFO researchers fear that "UFO-logy" as we've known it may not exist in 10 years.

Still, there will always be a remnant of those who believe in UFOs. They're not at all deterred by the lack of evidence and would ignore anyone who suggested otherwise. For these intrepid souls, Fox Mulder's other mantra, "Trust no one," is far more relevant.

Source: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/editorials/lost-in-space-is-the-world-witnessing-the-end-of-ufo-logy-661614/#ixzz2C1ykhdMd