That's 36 years. You can't take an eyeblink of time and extrapolate backwards and forwards. There is less ice today than there was in 1980. That's a fact. Is there less ice today than there was in 1903 or 1761? Nobody knows. Perhaps ice is shrinking and will never return but it is also possible that this is just a cyclical occurrence. Until someone explains the Little Ice Age, I'm still watching.