<span>"an enormous ornamental bat", because this is a humorous mental image, and
"as the atmospheric conditions demanded", because this is saying that the atmosphere and weather could make it necessary for someone to look a certain way (that's what is meant by putting on airs) rather than to actually stay dry or warm.</span>
Answer:
The idealistic approach is more valuable in the long-term, because it not only offers solutions to present and future problems, but it also offers a vision: an idea about the future for a person, a corporation, a city, or a nation.
The practical approach is more valuable in the short-term. While long-term ideas and vision of the idealists can be fulfilled, there are many concrete problems that need to be solved in the meantime, and this is the time and place where practical people shine.
