Beyond the torment it has already caused in the Carribbean and the stress it places on those who are evacuating the Gulf Coast, hurricane Gustav will lead to higher prices at the pumps. That's because the majority of the Gulf of Mexico's oil production is shut down in anticipation of Gustav's force.

Exactly how much production is being shut down? CNNMoney reports that "energy producers have shut in approximately 77% of oil output and 37% of natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico." This is affecting three producers particularly hard -- Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NYSE: RDS.A), BP PLC (NYSE: BP) and Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX).

And the production shut-down is significant -- "nearly 1 million barrels of daily oil production is now shut down. The last time this happened was in November 2005, after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In addition, 2.75 billion cubic feet of daily natural gas production is now shut down" according to CNNMoney.

Last week we watched as oil continued to make it's charge up to the psychological $60 barrier. On Friday we saw oil close at $59.02 and looking strong. This week started out incredibly strong but has since cooled off in afternoon trading.

Cold weather has been the major factor in recent gains for the precious crude and that is exactly where traders are continuing to focus their attention. The real question now is if we are going to see oil using $60 as a resistance point or if we are going to watch prices surge through resistance and start to trade in the $60's throughout the remainder of the winter months.

A few days ago BloggingStock's own Jon C. Ogg reported that Jim Cramer opened his mouth and called ethanol a "colossal joke that everyone is in on."

Well, if that statement is true, then it's a well-read joke being enjoyed by America, China, Spain and Canada ... among others. This interesting report at SeekingAlpha is from Sunopta (NASDAQ (GS):STKL) (Toronto:SOY) and it might enlighten some naysayers as to just how viable ethanol really is.The fact is that for right now ethanol stocks are at ground level and in my opinion that's why Cramer doesn't like them. I'm thinking that he sees the potential deflating effect that ethanol stocks will have on the oil-supported mutual funds and he's just not willing to do the work it will take to adjust the thinking of some important fund managers. Pooh on him.