Thanks for sharing the article.  In looking at the data, one notices a clear cyclic pattern but also a subtle general upward trend in temperature and downward trend in ice cover (i.e. the temperature lows are higher and the highs are higher) over time.  But I'm no climate scientist.<p>With respect to the polar bears, I searched around and found many articles which state that the population in the 60's had been diminished because of hunting and that, currently, the plurality of polar bear populations are in decline because of climate change.  The one article I found that supports your argument was from Fox News (no bias there ;-)).