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The retreat of glaciers since 1850

The Little Ice Age was a period from about 1550 to 1850 when the world experienced relatively cooler temperatures compared to the present. Subsequently, until about 1940, glaciers around the world retreated as the climate warmed substantially. Glacial retreat slowed and even reversed temporarily, in many cases, between 1950 and 1980 as a slight global cooling occurred.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retreat...ers_since_1850

Warnings about the future of the polar bear are often contrasted with the fact that worldwide population estimates have increased over the past 50 years and are relatively stable today.[124][125] Some estimates of the global population are around 5,000–10,000 in the early 1970s;[126] other estimates were 20,000–40,000 during the 1980s.[29][41] Current estimates put the global population at between 20,000 and 25,000.[24]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_bear