Many of the books sent to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt arrived without explanation. | Mark Wilson/Getty Images Pruitt’s reading list from the public? ‘Global Warming for Dummies’

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has some of the nation's leading climate scientists working for him, but if he's looking for a refresher on the science, he could just reach for one of the copies of "Global Warming for Dummies" sent to him.

The former Oklahoma attorney general, who has long doubted mainstream climate science, received at least 11 books on climate change from the public after taking the helm of the agency last year, according to records released to the Sierra Club on Friday under the Freedom of Information Act.


The titles ranged from Pope Francis' 2015 climate encyclical "Laudato Si" and Rachel Carson's seminal environmental book "Silent Spring" to the two copies of "Global Warming for Dummies," a 2008 entry in the popular explainer series.

A few alternative titles were also sent Pruitt's way.

"To Scott Pruitt — Warmest regards on a 'hot topic,'" read the inscription from Harlow A. Hyde, who mailed him a copy of his book "Climate Change: A Brief History of the Last 50 Million Years," which argues that global warming will increase precipitation and boost the economy by increasing crop yields.

The books arrived in March 2017, just weeks after Pruitt was confirmed to run the EPA. Many appear to have arrived at EPA headquarters without any explanation, but a few included letters.

"As a 27-year-old, my peers and I must live on this planet far longer than many who are in positions to make decisions about its future. Please keep us in mind as you do your work," wrote the person who sent Pruitt "Silent Spring."

It appears EPA tried to return at least some of the books mailed to Pruitt.

A letter from Douglas Reynolds, a professor of oil and energy economics at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks School of Management, complains that an aide returned a copy of Reynolds' self-published 2016 book on energy in the Soviet Union.

"By stating that this book is a gift, you have effectively censored my Academic Freedom to explain the facts of any research to you," Reynolds wrote. "This is a violation of my first amendment rights of free speech in the context of my 'academic responsibility' to my community as a learned professor of energy economics."

The back of Reynolds' book contains a quote from the "Manifesto of the Communist Party" by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.

Some sent pitches along with their copies of books. E. Freya Williams, CEO of Futerra North America, a sustainability strategy firm, urged Pruitt to embrace wind and solar power as she sent him a copy of her book, "Green Giants," which she inscribed to "the next Green Giant. #MAGA."

"Forget 'drill baby drill'. It's time for 'shine baby shine'. It's time for Trump Power. The future's bright," Williams wrote in a letter along with the book.

