CARIBOU (AP) – Last month went down as the third coldest January on record in the northern Maine city of Caribou and the fifth coldest in Bangor.

The National Weather Service says Caribou’s average temperature for the month was 2.5 degrees. The only colder Januarys were in 1994, when it averaged minus 0.7 degree, and 1957, when it was 1.3 degree.

Bangor’s average temperature for the month was 10.1 degrees – nearly 8 degrees below normal.

According to the weather service, Portland had its 17th coldest January in 69 years of record-keeping. For the month, the average temperature was 17.5 degrees, which was 4.2 degrees below normal.

Businesses: Tackle climate change

AUGUSTA (AP) – Maine business owners and environmental leaders are calling on the state’s congressional delegation to get tough on climate change issues.

A news conference was held Wednesday at the State House to release a letter signed by representatives of more than 100 Maine businesses.

The letter demands action this year to address global climate change.

The letter says Maine could benefit from jobs and reduced dependence on fossil fuels if legislation focuses on investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy development.

It was signed by more than 100 Maine businesses, including several big ones like Hannaford Bros., Lee Auto Malls, Oakhurst Dairy and Verso Paper.

Watch Maine birds on Web cam

GORHAM (AP) – Two new cameras have gone up in Maine to provide live video over the Internet of nesting peregrine falcons and bald eagles.

Biodiversity Research Institute, a nonprofit based in Gorham, announced Wednesday that the cameras are providing footage of the birds as they get close to mating season. The falcon camera is in southern Maine, while the eagle camera is in central Maine. The organization in the past has used cameras to provide live video on the Internet of nesting loons, eagles, ospreys and finches.

Go to: www.briloon.org/watching-wildlife

AP-ES-02-04-09 1207EST