Today, we too often see light as mere utilitarian anathema to "darkness" - which breeds evil, is to be banned to the shadows, or better yet eradicated altogether. As a consequence, we spill light everywhere. We kill the dark as if it's a disease, and deprive ourselves of a cosmic experience - the night sky, the magic experience of dusk and dawn, the conscious intake of bright summer sunlight as well as brief-if-invigorating winter sun. We turn night into day and forgot how, if at all, we can cherish and celebrate the difference.
Before, this was reversed. Night-time lighting served as an ornament, a celebration or display of art, or at least very consciously used to "spot" - light a path, show a door, paint with shadows. Make light a celebration in solstice bonfires, use candles as little boosters on christmas promising a nicer/warmer/brighter season just round the corner. Light was pleasure, luxury, promise, comfort.
Much of lighting today is needless and useless throwaway trash. It's used like painting the entire world flourescent green. Just with light. Not unimpressive as a technical feat. To me, just wrong, emotionally. If god had wanted us to live in permanent daylight, life would have been created on a planet rotation-bound to its star ...