Some utilities are even distributing fliers warning their customers of the dangers of overlighting. But you wouldn't be able to see anything from space because all the light would be pointing down. State laws in Maine and Arizona regulate the kind of lighting that can be used on state-funded projects. In recent decades, light pollution has increased dramatically as suburban development led to more highways and bigger shopping malls. Also, concerns about crime led to installation of bright floodlights in many areas.
Much urban light is wasted, shooting upward to sideways.
That washes out the night sky. Even from afar, the glow of city lights can interfere with astronomical work because so much current research involves the most distant and dimmest objects. Improperly lighted outdoor advertising signs contribute more than their share to light pollution and skyglow. Concern over light pollution is not limited to professional astronomers. Many amateurs and others with only a casual interest in astronomy sense the loss of something important when lights blot out the universe.