Houston is known worldwide for its energy industry primarily for oil and natural gas. It is the home to four of the six super major energy companies; Shell Oil, ExxonMobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips. In Houston high oil and gasoline prices are beneficial because so many people are employed by the energy industry.

Houston attracts many touring Broadway acts, concerts, shows and exhibitions. The Theater District has nine performing arts organizations and six performance halls. The city is one of the five United States cities with permanent, professional, resident companies in all major performing arts areas; opera, ballet, music and theater. The music scene in Houston is not one of much importance other than hip hop music. Hip Hop music has become a success because the unique flavor and attitude of its roots.

call Houston home. Houston is the home of the first domed stadium and the first retractable-roof stadium in the NFL. One of the two Houston hosted Super Bowl’s was hosted at the Reliant Astrodome in 2004.

Houston has the third tallest skyline in the United States and one of the top 10 in the world. JPMorgan Chase Tower is the tallest skyscraper in Houston and was completed in 1982. It is 1,002 feet high. Houston has a tunnel and skywalk system that connects building downtown to allow pedestrians to avoid the intense summer heat and heavy rain showers when walking from building to building. The entire system is 7 miles.

During the summer months in Houston temperatures can reach over 90 degrees Fahrenheit, although the humidity in Houston causes the heat index to be much higher than the temperature. The average high in the winter months is about 67 degrees fareneheit with a low of 45 degrees Fahrenheit. The city has one of the highest ozone levels and is ranked among the most ozone polluted cities in the United States. This is due to the industries located on along the ship channel. Houston lies along the route of the proposed Interstate 69 NAFTA superhighway that would link Canada, the US industrial Midwest, Texas and Mexico. Currently the highway runs from Indianapolis, Indiana northeast to the Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan. The proposed extension is named NAFTA because it would help trade with Canada and Mexico spurred by the North American Trade Agreement. The North American Trade Agreement eliminated the majority of tariffs on products traded among the United States, Canada and Mexico.