A recent, seasonal increase in polar ice coverage has caused inaccurate celebration among media’s climate change non-believers.

Daily Mail’s David Rose claimed that global warming has been replaced by ‘global cooling’ based on the fact that the Arctic ice cap has grown 29 percent this year. What Rose fails to mention is that this increase is seasonal, and, according to the Washington Post, this percent increase is in relation to what their chief meteorologist, Jason Samenow, called a “mind-boggling” record low in 2012.

The truth is, despite this year’s momentary increase in ice cap extent, there is still a long-term decline that will lead to end of summer sea ice. Andrew C. Revkin called yearly variables in ice coverage distracting to the big-picture decline in a New York Times article.

Tom Yulsman published an article in Discover Magazine outlining how Rose violated the principles of journalism he teaches to undergraduates at the University of Colorado. He called Rose’s article irresponsible and noted his ignorance of scientific terms. Rose, like many climate change skeptics, confused sea ice and ice sheets.

Sea ice, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, is frozen ocean water that helps keep temperatures down by reflecting huge amounts of sunlight away from ocean surfaces, which would absorb rather than reflect the heat. Ice sheets are glacial land ice masses that are so large they can alter storm tracks and, if they were to melt, would raise sea levels.

So, when Rose talks about the annual autumn re-freeze of ice sheets, rather than sea ice, he makes it clear that he doesn’t know what he is talking about.

The Wall Street Journal also published an article claiming global warming is nothing to worry about. An editor’s note states that 16 scientists signed off on the article. Of course, 16 scientists is nothing compared to the 18 American scientific associations and 200 worldwide scientific organizations listed by NASA who support climate change.

“Ninety-seven percent of climate scientists agree that climate-warming trends over the past century are very likely due to human activities,and most of the leading scientific organizations worldwide have issued public statements endorsing this position,” read a statement on NASA’s global climate change page, which is complete with links to published statements by those organizations.

In fact, anyone can Google search Arctic sea ice extent and see the downward trending graphs published by scientific organizations. One of the main problems with climate change opponents is their fixation on global warming instead of climate change.

Global warming refers to the increase in average global temperature. Climate change looks at shifts in the global climate, which are expected to become more extreme as global warming increases. The ice caps may not have completely disappeared, but they are shrinking, and this affects global climate.

The effects of global warming are more prevalent in some places than in others. Nelson Kanuk, a freshman at University of Alaska Faribanks, along with six of his peers, is suing the state of Alaska for ignoring climate change issues. A stream in the Kanuk family’s backyard has been receding towards their house at a rate of several feet per year due to melting permafrost – a layer of soil that remains frozen year round.

“We’re a small town that probably no one knows about, but I’d like to have our voices heard, and letting other people know how much we’re affected by climate change, I’m asking for help with how we’re gonna deal with this,” Kanuk said in a video he posted on Vimeo.

A Think Progress article said that the courts will mostly find the issue politically, which is why the case was originally dismissed, but Kanuk said he is keeping his fingers crossed.

While climate change opponents may not be changing their positions anytime soon, at least there is a new wave of activists to fight for their environment.