Despite oil prices plummeting to an eight-month low Wednesday, the cost of gas has gone up six cents in Milwaukee since last week.

As prices rise, Wisconsin Clean Cities-Southwest Area will promote awareness of the benefits of alternative fuel vehicles, or ATFs, and how people can help achieve energy independence.

According to Francis Vogel, executive director of Wisconsin Clean Cities, people can get cleaner air and energy security through alternative fuels and related strategies.

The nonprofit organization works with car fleets to help them switch over to alternative fuels.

"We would like to see an entire fleet of cars be changed over to alternative fuels over time," he said. "We help fleets obtain funds to cover the costs of switching over to alternative fuels."

Wisconsin Clean Cities-Southwest Area is holding an informational event today called Advantage Green: Alternative Fuel Vehicles Go Mainstream, to promote ATF awareness. The event will be held at the Milwaukee Department of Public Works Field Headquarters on 3850 N. 35th St. The event runs from noon to 2:30 p.m.

According to Vogel, Wisconsin Clean Cities appeals to people's environmental side and helps them see how they can start preserving the environment, but the current low price of gas has some asking why they should get an ATF.

Legislation has been discussed in Wisconsin to give incentives to hybrid car owners.

According to Lori Whitmore, administrative assistant in the office of state Rep. Joe Parisi (D-Madison), Parisi authored a bill to allow a sales tax exemption for buying a hybrid car.

"The hearing started last year in December and got stuck in committee because it lasted until June," she said.

Usually if a bill is going to pass it needs to get out of committee by March.

Parisi will introduce another similar bill for next session, Whitmore said.

According to Robert Griffin, professor of journalism, there are many factors contributing to the relatively low price of gas.

"The hurricane season was not as severe and did not develop as much as anticipated," he said. "Also, repairs proceeded quickly on the BP Alaskan pipeline," which was shut down in August following the discovery of a small spill and severe corrosion.

Griffin said people are also speculating politics are connected to current oil prices.

"People believe that Republicans have connections to the oil industry and they are driving down the price of oil for the election," he said.

That is pure speculation, Griffin said.

Whatever the case, he said the conditions that would have caused a shortage did not happen.

"The price of oil adjusted for inflation is not that much higher than 20 years ago," Griffin said.

According to both Griffin and Vogel, obtaining cheap oil in the future will become increasingly difficult.

"The days of easy cheap oil are over," Vogel said. "We are rapidly approaching or have already passed 'Peak Oil.' "

Peak Oil is the theory that half of the global oil supply has been consumed. The oil that has been consumed already was from large, easily accessible oil fields and the remaining oil is hidden in difficult locations in the earth.

"The fact is that easy oil has already been gotten," Griffin said. "Oil companies have to explore more to get oil and the cost is being passed on to consumers."

Demand is also going up.

China and India are both developing countries and rely increasingly on gasoline to fuel their economies.

"We need to lose our complacency and start acting yesterday," Vogel said. "We are all about helping the Midwest instead of the Mideast in terms of transportation fuel choices."