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This is why they ditched the name “greenhouse theory”: They say it was used originally metaphorically/analogously, but there was too much confusion over whether it meant literally. Obviously, greenhouses aren’t made out of carbon dioxode, either.
The biggest problem with the carbon heat-capture theory is simply that once the atmosphere is opaque to a certain wavelength of light, it doesn’t get more and more opaque.
I liken it to a blanket: If you put on one blanket, it keeps you warmer. Putting on a second blanket will keep you warmer, but not twice as warm. Pretty soon adding more and more blankets doesn’t make you much warmer at all.
Or to be somewhat less metaphorical: start with a room with a glass roof. Throw some packing peanuts on it. Because they don’t fit tightly and are somewhat translucent, they continue to let light in. Double the packing peanuts, and they let less light in. Eventually, adding more packing peanuts doesn’t effect the amount of light you add.
