You could say that the phrase "greenhouse effect" is somewhat inaccurate. What's really happening is that our atmosphere lowers the heat loss that would normally be present in something like a vacuum. Actual greenhouses prevent heat loss as well, but this is in reference to convection (rather than the radiative effect in our atmosphere).
I call this the Magick Blanket Argument. It violates the 2nd law of thermodynamics and ignores the Stefan-Boltzmann law.
Heat loss by the Earth is by light, not by conduction or convection. This is done by conversion of thermal energy into electromagnetic energy according the the Stefan-Boltzmann law, which states:
r = C*e*t^4, where r is in radiance (amplitude of light, in watts, over a square meter, C is a natural constant (effective converts the relation to our units of measurement), 'e' is the emissivity of the radiating surface (including any gases in the atmosphere)...a percentage measured constant value on how well a surface can radiate light compared to ideal black (perfectly absorptive), to ideal white (perfect reflector), and 't' is temperature in deg K.
In other words, the hotter a surface is, the more light it is radiating. All matter radiates; the Earth's surface, the atmosphere, everything. Light is the only way energy can dissipate into space.
Further, by imposing an increasing insulative power in the atmosphere, you are ignoring the 2nd law of thermodynamics by cooling the upper atmosphere and warming the lower one within the same system. This is a reduction of entropy within the same system, which is not possible.
Real greenhouses (and cars parked in the Sun) reach a higher temperature because of the reduction of heat, while still absorbing sunlight and converting some of that into thermal energy. Not all light converts to thermal energy when absorbed and might not even be absorbed at all. White cars tend to remain a bit cooler than black cars, for example. They accumulate more total thermal energy, which increases the average thermal energy per given volume, which we call temperature. At night, when the Sun goes down, all of these lose all that energy they gained again. They again reach the temperature of the outside temperature. Entropy is satisfied.
You cannot trap light.
You cannot trap heat.
You cannot trap thermal energy either. There is always heat.
That being said, climate science is a real thing,
Nope. No such thing. Climate doesn't even have a value to work with. Science must be falsifiable. That means a test must be available that is specific, and produces a specific result, that tests the theory itself for possible False. The test demands a value. Climate has none. A desert climate is still a desert climate. A marine climate is still a marine climate. There is no value. There is no such thing as a global climate. Earth has many climates. There is no falsifiable theory here. There is no science here.
but the media (and progressives) often present the religion you speak of.
So do 'climate scientists'. Like everyone else in the Church of Global Warming, they deny science and mathematics. They are just priests in this religion.
There are legitimate researchers in climate science,
None. A priest is not science. Science isn't a 'research' or a 'study'. It is a set of falsifiable theories. I have shown two of them to you:
2nd law of thermodynamics: e(t+1) >= e(t), where 'e' is entropy. and 't' is time.
Stefan Boltzmann law: r = C * e * t^4, where the meanings are already given.
but because of the political nature of the field,
Religion, actually. It IS trying to become a State religion though.
you have to be wary of the conflicting interests.
Science has no conflicts. No theory of science may conflict with any other theory of science. One or both theories are falsified. This is known as the external consistency check...a check a theories of science MUST pass. Non-scientific theories do not need to pass this test, but they DO need to pass the internal consistency check...a test against logic...since all theories are explanatory arguments.