Over illumination & inadequately shielded light fixtures degrade our view of stars unnecessarily.
Astronomy, star trail photography and the Aurora Borealis keep me searching for darker skies while growing cities dim the stars every year as poorly shielded lighting floods the night sky in increasingly invasive ways.
http://darksky.org/light-pollution/
"Outdoor lighting ordinances or codes are a great tool for ensuring that municipalities implement good, safe outdoor lighting. A well-written ordinance, with proper lighting installed, will save the public money & increase safety. Thousands of cities have adopted such codes and they can be a great tool for a community to use to control light pollution, glare, light trespass and skyglow." -DarkSky.org
facebook.com/IowaCityDarkSkies