--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If the greenhouse effect is a blanket in…" description: "\"If the greenhouse effect is a blanket in which we wrap ourselves to keep warm, nuclear winter kicks the blanket off.\" — Carl Sagan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/carl-sagan-160_blanket_if-the-greenhouse-effect-is-a-blanket-in_2996284.jpg" --- # If the greenhouse effect is a blanket in which we wrap… ![“If the greenhouse effect is a blanket in which we wrap ourselves to keep warm, nuclear winter kicks the blanket off.” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/carl-sagan-160_blanket_if-the-greenhouse-effect-is-a-blanket-in_2996284.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/carl-sagan-160_blanket_if-the-greenhouse-effect-is-a-blanket-in_2996284.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/carl-sagan-160_blanket_if-the-greenhouse-effect-is-a-blanket-in_2996284.jpg) > “If the greenhouse effect is a blanket in which we wrap ourselves to keep warm, nuclear winter kicks the blanket off.” [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The greenhouse effect warms Earth like a blanket; nuclear winter would strip that warmth away. **In simple terms:** Greenhouse effect is a warming blanket; nuclear winter removes it. Key Takeaway Understand climate impacts and risks. Themes climate science environment risk Mood concerned inquisitive Type educational analytical When to use this quote - energy planning - disaster preparedness - public education Key Concepts global warming nuclear winter energy policy Questions to Reflect On - What actions protect the climate blanket? - How to prepare for abrupt cooling? A Different Perspective Mitigation strategies can be politically contentious. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Kicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kicks/) [Nuclear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuclear/) [Nuclear winter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuclear-winter/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Winter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winter/) ## Related quotes > [I could wrap myself in the warm cocoon of a song and go anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-cash/i-could-wrap-myself-in-the-warm-cocoon-of-a-song-and-go-anywhere/) [Johnny Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-cash/) > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [If Earth ever suffers a runaway greenhouse effect (like what has happened on Venus), then our atmosphere would trap excess amounts of solar energy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/if-earth-ever-suffers-a-runaway-greenhouse-effect-like-what-has/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The general public doesn't know and probably doesn't care about punctuated equilibria nor indeed should they, or the greenhouse effect on some other planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewontin/the-general-public-doesn-t-know-and-probably-doesn-t-care-about/) [Richard Lewontin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewontin/) > [... The reality is that atmospheric CO2 has a minimal impact on greenhouse gases and world temperature. Water vapor is responsible for 95 percent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cunningham/the-reality-is-that-atmospheric-co2-has-a-minimal-impact-on/) [Walter Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cunningham/) > [There is a natural greenhouse effect that contributes to warming. Greenhouse gases trap heat and thus warm the Earth because they prevent a significant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/there-is-a-natural-greenhouse-effect-that-contributes-to-warming-2/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Isn't it sad that you can tell people that the ozone layer is being depleted, the forests are being cut down, the deserts are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/isn-t-it-sad-that-you-can-tell-people-that-the-ozone-layer-is-being/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [The unthinkable is that we're distorting this atmospheric balance. We're shifting the chemical balance so that we have more poisons in the atmosphere -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-oppenheimer/the-unthinkable-is-that-we-re-distorting-this-atmospheric-balance-we/) [Michael Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-oppenheimer/) > [... the consensus of the scientific community has shifted from skepticism to near-unanimous acceptance of the evidence of an artificial greenhouse effect. Second, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-easterbrook/the-consensus-of-the-scientific-community-has-shifted-from-skepticism/) [Gregg Easterbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-easterbrook/) > [The basic scientific conclusions on climate change are very robust and for good reason. The greenhouse effect is simple science: greenhouse gases trap heat,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-stern/the-basic-scientific-conclusions-on-climate-change-are-very-robust/) [Nicholas Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-stern/) > [Al Gore likes to say that mankind puts 70 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every day. What he probably doesn't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-spencer/al-gore-likes-to-say-that-mankind-puts-70-million-tons-of-carbon/) [Roy Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-spencer/) > [I am not a climatologist, but I don't think any of the other witnesses are either. I do work in the related field of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-happer/i-am-not-a-climatologist-but-i-don-t-think-any-of-the-other-witnesses/) [William Happer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-happer/) > [The gradual depletion of the ozone layer and the related "greenhouse effect" has now reached crisis proportions as a consequence of industrial growth, massive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/the-gradual-depletion-of-the-ozone-layer-and-the-related-greenhouse/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [ Because nitrous oxide \[released by nitrate-fertilised soil\] is 296 times stronger than COâ‚‚ at global warming and methane \[cow farts\] is about 26 times… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/because-nitrous-oxide-released-by-nitrate-fertilised-soil-is-296/) [Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/) > [There is a natural greenhouse effect that contributes to warming. Greenhouse gases trap heat and thus warm the Earth because they prevent a significant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/there-is-a-natural-greenhouse-effect-that-contributes-to-warming/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) ## More by Carl Sagan > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-suppression-of-uncomfortable-ideas-may-be-common-in-religion-or/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Telepathy’ literally means to feel at a distance, just as ‘telephone’ is to hear at a distance and ‘television’ is to see at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/telepathy-literally-means-to-feel-at-a-distance-just-as-telephone-is/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“On the scale of worlds—to say nothing of stars or galaxies—humans are inconsequential, a thin film of life on an obscure and solitary lump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/on-the-scale-of-worlds-to-say-nothing-of-stars-or-galaxies-humans-are/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-one-of-us-is-in-the-cosmic-perspective-precious-if-a-human/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [In our time, we have sifted the sands of Mars, we have established a presence there, we have fulfilled a century of dreams!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-our-time-we-have-sifted-the-sands-of-mars-we-have-established-a/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ “\[ When a religious couple wrote to Sagan about fulfilled prophecies, he wrote back in May 1996 :\] If ‘fulfilled prophecy’ is your criterion,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/when-a-religious-couple-wrote-to-sagan-about-fulfilled-prophecies-he/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Don't judge everyone else by your own limited experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/don-t-judge-everyone-else-by-your-own-limited-experience/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors. The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/books-permit-us-to-voyage-through-time-to-tap-the-wisdom-of-our/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [We live on a hunk of rock and metal that circles a humdrum star that is one of 400 billion other stars that make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-live-on-a-hunk-of-rock-and-metal-that-circles-a-humdrum-star-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [A tiny blue dot set in a sunbeam. Here it is. That's where we live. That's home. We humans are one species and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/a-tiny-blue-dot-set-in-a-sunbeam-here-it-is-that-s-where-we-live-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Any sufficiently crisp question can be answered by a single binary digit-0 or 1, yes or no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/any-sufficiently-crisp-question-can-be-answered-by-a-single-binary/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Humans — who enslave, castrate, experiment on, and fillet other animals — have had an understandable penchant for pretending animals do not feel pain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/humans-who-enslave-castrate-experiment-on-and-fillet-other-animals/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every star may be a sun to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-star-may-be-a-sun-to-someone/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) [Explore all 1,043 Carl Sagan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## More Blanket quotes > [I would drink gallons of coffee a day. Even now, off caffeine, I talk faster than anyone you've ever met. I finally recognized that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/i-would-drink-gallons-of-coffee-a-day-even-now-off-caffeine-i-talk/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [“A blanket could be used to make sweet, sweet music with the love of your life. Hopefully that person is me, because I’ve been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-blanket-could-be-used-to-make-sweet-sweet-music-with-the-love-of/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Someone else who liked what I did might turn around and say, "She's reworking and rethinking everything. She could just be making blankets now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-emin/someone-else-who-liked-what-i-did-might-turn-around-and-say-she-s/) [Tracey Emin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-emin/) > [Old ladies in wheelchairs with blankets over their legs, I don't think so...retired mermaids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-jones/old-ladies-in-wheelchairs-with-blankets-over-their-legs-i-don-t-think/) [Milton Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-jones/) > [“A blanket could be used to lay down the law. Lay it down over there, on top of the bed, and I’ll come over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-blanket-could-be-used-to-lay-down-the-law-lay-it-down-over-there-on/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [When we go... to bear witness to life on the streets, we're offering ourselves. Not blankets, not food, not clothes, just ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-glassman/when-we-go-to-bear-witness-to-life-on-the-streets-we-re-offering/) [Bernie Glassman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-glassman/) > [“If a blanket could be used to keep one person warm, then it stands to reason that all the blankets in the world are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/if-a-blanket-could-be-used-to-keep-one-person-warm-then-it-stands-to/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [You all polite and open doors for her. While every night I put that blanket on the floor for her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludacris/you-all-polite-and-open-doors-for-her-while-every-night-i-put-that/) [Ludacris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludacris/) > [“A blanket could be used to suffocate our secret desires. And what do I secretly desire? I desire suffocation, and that is why I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-blanket-could-be-used-to-suffocate-our-secret-desires-and-what-do-i/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Never walk near the bed; to a ghost your ankle is your most vulnerable part-once in bed, you're safe; he may lie around under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/never-walk-near-the-bed-to-a-ghost-your-ankle-is-your-most-vulnerable/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [You'll see that it'll take more than five and a half months to wipe away peel;scrape away the blanket of ignorance that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-antoine/you-ll-see-that-it-ll-take-more-than-five-and-a-half-months-to-wipe/) Matthew Antoine > [The trainee knew he should leave, but he was unable to look away. He'd never seen anything snap out so fast or strike so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/the-trainee-knew-he-should-leave-but-he-was-unable-to-look-away-he-d/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [“…finally I see that it’s never been me, just a blanket that keeps you warm. Easily tossed along when something flashier or someone prettier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/finally-i-see-that-it-s-never-been-me-just-a-blanket-that-keeps-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have always wanted to act ever since I was a little girl. I would put a blanket under my shirt and pretend that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dakota-fanning/i-have-always-wanted-to-act-ever-since-i-was-a-little-girl-i-would/) [Dakota Fanning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dakota-fanning/) > [“A blanket could be used to say I’m sorry without using words, gestures, body language, facial expressions, or telepathy. I’ve always thought it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-blanket-could-be-used-to-say-i-m-sorry-without-using-words-gestures/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) Browse all 627 Blanket quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If the greenhouse effect is a blanket in which we wrap ourselves to keep warm, nuclear winter kicks the blanket off.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carl Sagan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/if-the-greenhouse-effect-is-a-blanket-in-which-we-wrap-ourselves-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blanket" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/if-the-greenhouse-effect-is-a-blanket-in-which-we-wrap-ourselves-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/carl-sagan-160_blanket_if-the-greenhouse-effect-is-a-blanket-in_2996284.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/carl-sagan-160_blanket_if-the-greenhouse-effect-is-a-blanket-in_2996284.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/carl-sagan-160_blanket_if-the-greenhouse-effect-is-a-blanket-in_2996284.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If the greenhouse effect is a blanket in which we wrap ourselves to keep warm, nuclear winter kicks the…” — Carl Sagan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Carl Sagan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If the greenhouse effect is a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/if-the-greenhouse-effect-is-a-blanket-in-which-we-wrap-ourselves-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/if-the-greenhouse-effect-is-a-blanket-in-which-we-wrap-ourselves-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```