> drastic intensification of street, parking and building lighting

We got an increase in lighting whether we like it or not but for lower overall consumption.

> not to mention headlights

40 years ago the highest powered headlight halogen bulbs consumed 80-100W per bulb. so you were looking at 150-200W for low/high beams. A pair of modern laser headlights now gives you 5 times more light for a fifth of the electricity. The limit is safety in traffic. A misadjusted 200W laser headlight will leave you short of 2 retinas.

> People also seem much less concerned with leaving lights on in unused spaces as well.

They consume so little that even wasting is still cheaper lower consumption than in the days of incandescent lights.