Public education is important, but it typically requires regulations to obtain consistent conformity to any set of responsible practices simply because it is hard to educate everyone. How we individually use outdoor artificial lighting at night affects our neighbors and the environment. Urban sky glow can light the night for many miles in every direction, impacting wildlife and hiding the stars for people who don't even live in the town or city that emits it. Tucson passed the first modern outdoor lighting ordinance in 1973. Today, over five hundred cities, towns, and counties have such ordinances. These are not different from noise abatement ordinances, leash laws, or litter prevention rules.
What lighting ordinances do is mandate, to the extent practical, the Illumination Engineering Society's five principles of Responsible lighting. People sometimes ask how effective such ordinances can be. The city of Flagstaff, Arizona, is a pioneer in outdoor lighting ordinances. It is a city the size of Conway, AR. Its sky is one-sixth as bright, and the Milky Way is visible from inside the city limits.
Below are links to DarkSky International's new model municipal lighting ordinance (MLO). ANSA has its own, somewhat less ambitious model ordinance, which some communities may find easier to implement. It is a modified version of the city of Fayetteville's ordinance, one of the first in the state. Below are links to these model ordinances and other related resources.
If you are interested in helping ANSA advance an ordinance in your community, please subscribe to our groups.io platform and join the policy subgroup.