“Light pollution”
What ordinary people think of as safety and convenience.
No. Safety and convenience don’t have to create a light bubble that blocks the view of the stars for miles around. Done right you can have your house lit up like day time and not impede the view of the stars for anybody not in direct line of site. Some cities have light bubbles so bright they obscure the stars for hundreds of miles around them, that’s pollution.
When you see the nighttime satellite pics of North Korea, you get the impression that people there have fine views of the Milky Way. They may be starving and lead miserable lives but they can do lots of star gazing.
“What ordinary people think of as safety and convenience.”
But it is my right to see the mweeky way! Stop all electricity!
What ordinary people erroneously think of as safety and convenience. Light shining vertically contributes nothing to safety and convenience. Spill light shining horizontally that does not illuminate anything that needs to be illuminated is even worse, since 1) light that is nearly horizontal that passes through hundreds of miles of atmosphere before getting into space illuminates more dust particles and thus produces more skyglow than light shined vertically; and 2) horizontal light that shines directly into the eyes of passersby (e.g., motorists) produces glare that impairs their ability to see things they need to see (like pedestrians, animals and hazards).
People who are familiar with the subject matter understand that light trespass and glare reduce safety and convenience.
Ordinary people?
Frankly for we amateur astronomers, it is nothing more than morons trying to protect themselves from bad guys they assume are going to drop out of the sky on their heads.
Why else would people wastefully shine “security lights” into space?
Here is a tip: If you want safety and convenience, point the darn things towards the ground where humans tend to be, and put a shield over the top.
I never enjoyed the night sky more than when I worked the Pacific Ocean. The night sky was filled with sparkling multicolored gems.