Updated graph reveals Inconvenient Truth

Two years ago Al Gore tweeted this (h/t Tom Nelson @tan123):

Vanishing Great Lakes’ ice: http://t.co/CM1OVphv
— Al Gore (@algore) April 5, 2012

Al Gore's post links to this equally old Climate Progress post (screen shot):

 

 

It features this graph of Great Lakes ice cover for a four (or five?) week period (roughly April) in various years:

 

 

Oh noes, we're all doomed! 

As it's two years outdated I decided to update the graph to see how things are "progressing". I had to go to the Canadian Ice Service website here and select "archive search" (screen shot):

And after a few more steps, here is the updated graph:

But there's more to the story. The Climate Progress graph starts at a high(ish) point in 1980. Now check the full graph of available data with some prior data that was curiously omitted:

 

 

Doesn't look quite so scary, does it? In fact, seems rather like the cycles of natural climate change. 

Why did Climate Progress choose to start the graph in 1980 and omit the data from before? (Perhaps because of the black "no data" portion of the blue columns of the graph?)  I guess it's the AGW hockey team up to their usual tricks.