Pictures like this never really added up to me, since it's common knowledge how 98 % of all that light comes from neons, billboard and the other forms of advertisements.
Do they really convey our urge to boast around or represent some perverted Ode to Globalisation?
There are vast portions of inhabited land in Russia, China, India, Canada and elsewhere that, observed from the lower Earth's orbit, appear just as dark.
Exactly how many light-bulbs do you need to illuminate a street?