Update of February 21: the Cryosphere Today's webpage no longer displays the text below, but it is still a great site. I can recommend downloading the time-lapse of the year 2008 Arctic sea ice retreat -- it is a huge file, but well worth it.

Feb. 20:
Ok, so now I have noticed that the Univ. of Illinois-Univ. of Colorado's Cryosphere Today group has weighed in on George F. Will's absolutely incredibly badly researched "opinion" piece published in the Washington Post.

Here, below, is what they had to say (click here for Cryosphere Today's website):

February 15, 2009
In an opinion piece by George Will published on February 15, 2009, in the Washington Post, George Will states, "According to the University of Illinois' Arctic Climate Research Center, global sea ice levels now equal those of 1979."

We do not know where George Will is getting his information, but our data show that on February 15, 1979, global sea ice area was 16.79 million sq. km and on February 15, 2009, global sea ice area was 15.45 million sq. km. Therefore, global sea ice levels are 1.34 million sq. km less in February 2009 than in February 1979. This decrease in sea ice area is roughly equal to the area of Texas, California, and Oklahoma combined.

It is disturbing that the Washington Post would publish such information without first checking the facts.