Some standards contribute to night sky pollution.
This is a nighttime photograph of the United States from space. Also see New Look of Outdoor Lighting.
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Not all of this comes from streetlights, but typical fixtures send light in many directions where it isn't needed. This illustrates wasted light production with billions of watts of electrical energy being thrown away.
Lighting standards must specify at least a minimum illuminance on the ground, however, some standards have language that requires an average illuminance throughout a lighted area. Adding to the light pollution problem is a purchase specification that requires lighting based upon wattage or lumen. This language evolved as a measure of the current technology at the time, and is a general measure of light production rather than light needed.
Understandably, lighting measurements were tabulated, deemed adequate, and measures were set to promote replication. Understandable but, now there may be better control of light dispersion.
New technology that makes distributed lighting control practical with lenses may require new standards in order to darken our night skies. With LED technology, we can properly illuminate the crosswalk without requiring a blinding level of footcandles directly beneath the fixture. And better yet, billions of watts of energy are saved by not producing light just to throw away.
See Sodium Lighting