Most Americans are terrible with their energy wasting for heating and cooling, I agree! As a student in Boston, I was constantly amzed by the fact that everywhere was heated — to disgustingly high degrees! — in the winter. While a 70 would be more than apt (I’d prefer a good 60-65 in a Boston winter), shops, restaurants, etc. would set their heat to a good 80 degrees. I would constantly be stripping my layers from outside off as I would enter stores and then begrudgingly put them back on again when leaving, but I would notice many stubborn people who wouldn’t even bother with that!
To contrast, in many places down South, as soon as the temperature hits 75-80, shops will lower their thermostats to approximately -40 (or, well, 65). 65? In summer?! Being from the South, I’ve noticed that people will do that in their homes as well — even my father, now that they have central heating/cooling. (Before we had one air conditioner, many fans, and a fireplace. Suited me well!)
What gets me is that people don’t seem to understand that it’s easier to get sick in those sorts of conditions and that one can simply turn on a fan when it’s hot for circulation and put on a few extra layers when ti’s cold. I don’t by any means recommend not having heating or cooling, but to have it so high or so low is crazy.

Anonymous, more often, the air blown into the sidewalk is not AC–it’s the hot air from the AC unit. And the hotter the blown out air, the cooler inside.