Anyway, you can see in your comparison that there are several coastal areas lagging in ice formation in 2012 vis a vis 2008.
And furthermore your advice certainly applies to the excitement over the "record cold" we're having. I use quotes because I remember at least two occasions in the 80's thru 90's when we sank into the -20's here in Chitown. I don't think we hit zero for some years previous to this year, when we got to -14, so that's still warmer than those previous cold snaps, nicht wahr?
And furthermore than that, I heard someone say on TV, regarding the Olympics, that Moscow was having a warm winter this year. Well, they've had some cold one's too, but it's not like the polar cold is enveloping the northern hemisphere, know what I mean?