These are some of the stories central Maine is talking about today.

A University of Maine report about the effect of climate change on the state of Maine says environmental changes due to a warmer climate will accelerate here in the coming years. The next 35 years will likely bring as much change to the state's climate as the last 100. Those changes included about three degrees in temperature warming, two weeks longer of a growing season and a sea level rise of about six-tenths of a foot. The report comes five years after an initial climate change assessment done at the request of former Gov. John Baldacci. (AP)

Gas prices have gone up 9.1 cents a gallon in the last week in Maine. The average cost of a gallon of gas in Maine is up to $2.40, nearly 30 cents per gallon higher than in the past month, but still nearly $1.18 lower per gallon than at this time last year. The price per gallon in Maine is 2 cents below the national average. (AP)

Waterways around the Northeast and the Midwest have ice more than a foot thick in some places.The ice is making life miserable for people who make their living on the water or commute via boat. Frigid temperatures froze more than 10 lobster fishing boats near Portland last month. National Weather Service records going back to 1940 say Maine's largest city set a record for the coldest February temperature at about 14 degrees. The Coast Guard is cutting ice on the Hudson River in New York so barges carrying heating oil, gasoline and jet fuel can reach their destinations. The ice is a foot and a half thick in some areas. A blanket of thick ice has spread across the Great Lakes for the second consecutive winter. (AP)

Advocates and health care providers say Gov. LePage's plan to divert money from a fund that supports community anti-smoking programs is the wrong approach. LePage wants to take $10 million a year from the Fund for Healthy Maine, which is made up of tobacco settlement dollars, to maintain higher Medicaid reimbursement rates for primary care physicians. The proposal is part of his $6.3 billion budget proposal. DHHS Commissioner says that current anti-smoking efforts aren't working and says investing in primary care is a more effective and targeted method to reducing smoking rates.(AP)

The Maine Board of Environmental Protection is scheduled to meet this week to consider an appeal of the Bingham Wind Project by the anti-wind group Friends of Maine's Mountains. The group alleges that Blue Sky West has not met required state standards for proving financial capacity or decommissioning plans. Their appeal also criticizes the Department of Environmental Protection for not properly evaluating the scenic impact of the wind farm or its impact on wildlife. The project has received the approval of the state Department of Environmental Protection. The Bingham Wind Project, which would place turbines in the town of Bingham and neighboring communities Mayfield Township and Kingsbury Plantation, is estimated to cost $398 million. (AP)

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