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David William Schwartzman

From EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki





David William Schwartzman
BornOctober 31, 1943
Brooklyn, New York, USA
💀DiedJuly 1, 2025, age 81
Washington, DC, USAJuly 1, 2025, age 81
Cause of deathProstate cancer (metastatic) with cardiac complications
🏫 Education
💼 Occupation
Known for* Self-organizing biosphere
  • Biotic enhancement of weathering
  • Hot early Earth
  • Coarsely deterministic evolution
  • Co-evolution of life and climate
  • Finding lead isotopes in children's blood
  • Solar utopia
  • Political, social, and environmental activism
👩 Spouse(s)* Barbara Ann Major (1st wife, married: 1966)
  • Emilie Junge (partner, 1983 to 1998)
  • Joanne F. W. Fleming (2nd wife, from: 2001)
👶 Children* Peter (born: 1968 - Barbara Ann Major, mother)
  • Sam (born: 1984 - Emilie Junge, mother)
Warning: Display title "David William Schwartzman" overrides earlier display title "User:Jeffwb/David W Schwartzman".

David William Schwartzman, PhD (October 31, 1943 to July 1, 2025)

David Schwartzman was a professor of geology at Howard University for 39 years. After he retired as professor emeritus in 2012, he continued his research, writing, and environmental, social, and political activism until very shortly before his death.[1][2][3][4]

His research interests were wide-ranging, focusing on biogeochemistry, geochemistry, astrobiology, environmental studies and policy, evolution, and the philosophy of science. Much of his research served as a foundation for his environmental, social, and political activism.[5][6][7][8][9][10]

David Schwartzman was a complex individual whose work spanned multiple disciplines, as well as social and political contexts. His colleagues saw him as deeply concerned about the welfare of people in our societies, as well as about the increasing devastation to the environment and the critical interdependencies with our social and political systems.[11][12][13][14][15][16]

Early Life

David was born into a working-class Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York. He called himself a "red diaper baby," in reference to his birth 9 months (271 days) after the victory of the Soviets over Hitler's forces in the Battle of Stalingrad.[17][18][19] For him, the significance went beyond coincidental timing to being a marker of his lifelong passion and efforts to promote social justice ideals of socialism and the efforts of anti-fascism. His parents, Max and Miriam, were Left Activists, as were many in his local community. Their commitment provided a rich and stimulating context for the blossoming of David's anti-fascist and social justice activism as a teenager in the late 1950s and early 1960s.[20][21] As a child, he also spent summers at Camp Midvale in New Jersey, which was established in 1930 by Nature Friends, an organization founded by German-American socialists and trade unionists in 1910.[22][23] David Schwartzman’s love of nature and concerns for social welfare were further enhanced during his time at the camp.

Education

After graduating from Stuyvesant High School in Brooklyn, David received his B.S. degree in chemistry and biology at City College of New York in 1964. He then earned his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in geochemistry at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

  • B.S. in chemistry & biology — 1964 — City College of New York
  • M.S. in geochemistry — 1966 — Brown University
  • Ph.D. in geochemistry — 1971 — Brown University[24]

Work & Scholarly Activities

After receiving his Ph.D. degree, he avoided pressures to join the fossil fuel corporate world and its high salaries, and followed a path that allowed him to interweave his scientific, social, and political passions.[25] In 1973, he joined the faculty and was appointed as the first chair of the Department of Geology and Geography at Howard University, an Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Washington, DC. When the University closed the Department of Geology and Geography, he transferred to the Biology Department in 1992. During his tenure at Howard University, he was Chair of the Department of Geology and Geography from 1973 to 1985, and Director of Graduate Studies from 1987 to 1990. During his retirement, he continued his research and publishing, as well as presenting at a variety of professional and political conferences (e.g., Left Forum, Historical Materialism, Global Greens, Climate Working Groups, EcoAction Committee, and the Global Ecosocialist Network), journal editorial boards (e.g., Capitalism, Nature, Socialism and Science & Society), and in various professional and political organizations.[26][27][28][29][30] He organized a panel discussion on EcoLeninism in London at the Historical Materialism Conference in 2024.[31] He also presented his paper, "Solar Communism Revisited," at the Marx in the Anthropocene Conference in Venice, Italy, on March 12, 2025.

One of the remarkable characteristics of David Schwartzman was his wide-ranging interests both within the sciences as well as across subject matter disciplines and other contexts of personal, social, and political importance. His scholarship spanned multiple and disparate disciplines: geology, exobiology/astrobiology, geobiology, human evolution, biogeochemistry, and the philosophy of science. While most scientists restrict their work to a narrow field of interest and rarely connect their work to other contexts and disciplines, Schwartzman frequently connected his scientific work to politics, philosophy, philosophy of science, environmental issues, and social welfare. In addition, much of his work examined the limits of science — moving past what Thomas Kuhn called "normal science" or filling in the gaps in current knowledge to "revolutionary science."[32] Schwartzman not only pushed the limits of scientific thinking, but also went even further to push the limits of other non-science contexts.[33][34][35][36][37][38][39]

Schwartzman was a relatively early adopter of the complexity sciences in his work with biogeochemical cycles.[40] His paper, "Biospheric Evolution is Coarsely Deterministic," draws a distinction between processes that can be predicted with some certainty (a non-complex process) and those that cannot be predicted. The "coarsely deterministic" processes involve those processes that occur given certain specific conditions, such as the geochemical and astronomical conditions on an exoplanet. If certain conditions are met, it is highly likely some form of life will evolve. However, once life (a complex phenomenon) begins, its evolution is not predictable. And this paper is another example of Schwartzman's intense interest in life on other planets, which is also significant in understanding the development and evolution of life on Earth.[41]

In the course of his work, Schwartzman coined new terms to provide short signifiers that captured his work spanning scientific fields: geophysiology and biogeophysiology, which connected to the Gaia Hypothesis (i.e., Earth as a living system) and global ecology. Two other terms, ecosocialism and solar communism, refer to his sociopolitical efforts, to connect environmental, energy, economics, social, and political issues to his work in the earth sciences.

Major Scientific Contributions

David Schwartzman was one of the few scientists who, as a matter of course, examined phenomena holistically and transcontextually (going beyond transdisciplinarity). As a geologist/earth scientist, his thinking relied heavily on biology, chemistry/biochemistry, health sciences, philosophy, sociology, politics, technology, economics, physics (especially involving energy), and the wide-ranging contexts affecting human life and the lives of all living organisms. In other words, he always sought to place his work within the whole range of contexts affecting the particular subjects of his inquiries, which provided much more meaningful and relevant understandings of our world and the issues we face. He also unabashedly promoted the possibility of intelligent life on other planets, when most scientists were either dismissive or silent about this particular topic.

The Biosphere as a Complex, Self-Organizing, Self-Regulating System Schwartzman's book, Life, Temperature, and the Earth: The Self-Organizing Biosphere,[42] lays out a quantitative model of the Gaia Hypothesis.[43] His first use of the term "geophysiology" appeared here. This book attempted to tread a rather thorny path between two conflicting paradigms: complexity and mechanism. While complexity involves self-organizing, non-linear, unpredictable systems, mechanism describes linear and predictable systems. His justification was to provide a more rigorous foundation for the Gaia Hypothesis at a time when much of the scientific community was still heavily embedded in mechanistic thinking.[44] He also devoted a chapter to how this model provided justification for the probability of other life-sustaining planets.

Biotic Enhancement of Weathering and Planetary Thermoregulation His model of the biosphere was based on a mechanism in which micro-organisms, lichens, and fungi accelerate the breaking down of silicate rocks, which in turn lowers atmospheric CO2 levels while sequestering carbon in carbonate minerals. This biotic enhancement process acted as a planetary thermostat that mediated the increasing luminosity of the Sun and its planetary heating. This biological process also provides a possible solution to the Faint Young Sun Paradox. [45][46][47]

Hot Early Earth and Thermoregulation Schwartzman provided evidence from his analysis of isotopes in ancient sedimentary rocks (i.e., cherts) for his contention that Precambrian Earth was much hotter than had been suggested.[48][49] He also suggested that the primary constraint on the development of more complex life forms was high temperatures. The Biotic Enhancement of Weathering that lowered the temperature on Earth allowed for the emergence of more complex life. In other words, evolutionary innovations were "thermally-gated," and only occurred after temperatures dropped below the Maximum Thermal Tolerance.[50][51]

Coarsely Deterministic Evolution with Implications for Astrobiology and Life on Other Planets Schwartzman's "coarsely deterministic" view of evolution contrasts with Stephen Jay Gould's "punctuated equilibrium"[52] and the "hard steps" model of evolution.[53] For David Schwartzman, evolutionary innovations were inevitable once thermal and other environmental constraints were lifted. He further suggested that complex, intelligent life should be a common occurrence on Earth-like planets. In pushing the limits even further, he thought that any advanced civilizations on other planets have not made contact with humans because of our primitive social conditions, which include war, social inequities, and our propensity for ecological destruction.[54]

Major Contributor to the Scientific Basis for Banning Lead in Gasoline Schwartzman and colleagues published a study on the presence of gasoline isotopes in children's blood [55][56] He followed this publication with continued lobbying in Washington, DC, for banning leaded gasoline.

Throughout his career, David Schwartzman collaborated with over two dozen people. A few of those people with whom he often collaborated, included his older son and professor of environmental studies and mayor of Galesburg, Illinois, Peter Schwartzman; global ecologist, Tyler Volk; astrobiologist, Charles H. Lineweaver; ecologist and evolutionary biologist, George Middendorf; and paleontologist, Mark McMenamin.

Activism — Scientific, Environmental, Social, and Political

From the time David Schwartzman was a teenager up until his death, he was a dedicated social, political, and environmental activist. Later in his life, he would have characterized his activism as ecosocialism, which is described in detail in his two most recent books: (a) The global solar commons, the future that is still possible: A guide for 21st Century activists and (b) The Earth is Not for Sale: A Path Out of Fossil Capitalism to the Other World That is Still Possible. He actively supported the Global Green Deal and promoted Solar Communism. His work in this area combined Marxism and science.[57][58][59][60] His work on solar communism was a testament to his fight against capitalism and its devastating effects on people and the environment. [61][62] [63]

Throughout his life, he was active supporting and participating in many protests against policies and actions that were potentially dangerous to individuals, communities, or the environment. Almost all of his activism had a rigorous basis in his scientific work and in the theoretical foundations of socialism.[64][65][66][67] During his life and involvement in protests, he was arrested several times. His first arrest was while he was a graduate student at Brown University, during a speech promoting the Vietnam War by General Earle Wheeler, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. During that speech, a number of students walked out, others heckled General Wheeler, and some attempted to storm the stage. [68] He spent the night in jail after being taunted about his name, "Schwartzman," and beaten.[69] In the years to follow, he participated in dozens of protests, which included several more arrests at Anti-Apartheid South Africa protests, at protests against NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia, and at a huge protest against the Exxon/Keystone XL pipeline outside of the White House in 2011.[70]

At the core of his activism was his intense concern for the welfare of all people. He viewed capitalism as a major obstacle to a sustainable and equitable lifestyle for the majority of people around the world. He worked tirelessly to push for changes in all sectors of society in ways that could benefit the well-being of everyone. For most of his life, he was aligned with socialist and environmental groups, including the Green Party. He ran for the District of Columbia Council as a DC Statehood Green Party candidate, but was never successful at gaining a seat on the Council. Some of the political slogans he used on campaign posters include:

File:DWS-Housing Is a Human Right-Poster.jpg
222 x 180px
  • “Make DC a REAL human rights city, eliminate child poverty!”
  • “Standing for the 99% not the 1%”
  • “Housing is a human right, eliminate homelessness.”
  • “Ban the Box, end job and housing discrimination and ensure full human rights for our Returning Citizens!”
  • "For the Many, not the Few! Affordable Housing for All!”
  • "Implement Initiative 77! A Living Wage for All!”
  • "Establish a DC Public Bank!"

A partial list of David Schwartzman's concerns and focuses of activism:

  • Democratic socialism.
  • Environmental socialism.
  • Solar and other forms of sustainable sources of energy—socialism.
  • Justice and equity: racial, social, environmental, and economic.
  • Human rights — including South African and Palestinian struggles.
  • Fair and equitable taxation and government budgeting.
  • Anti-fascism.
  • Global warming and climate change.
  • Child poverty and hunger.
  • Affordable housing.
  • Science for the people.

Professional and Activist Memberships

Professional

Reviewer for Journals

  • Atmospheric Environment
  • BioScience
  • Chemical Geology
  • Climatic Change
  • Earth and Planetary Science Letters
  • Geobiology
  • Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
  • Journal of Geophysical Research
  • Nature
  • Research and Exploration
  • Tellus
  • Water, Air, and Soil Pollution

Reviewer for Book Publishers (partial list)

  • MIT Press
  • Oxford University Press
  • Princeton University Press

Activist

  • Claudia Jones School for Political Education (worked with and supported the school).
  • Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism.
  • Communist Party of America (until its demise in 1991).
  • DC Fair Budget Coalition.
  • Jewish Voices for Peace.
  • Party for Socialism and Liberation.
  • Code Pink
  • Climate Defiance.
  • DC Statehood Green Party — Chair of Political Policy and Action Committee.
  • Democratic Socialists of America — Ecosocialist Working Group — Member of Metro DC Chapter.
  • Empower DC .
  • Fair Budget Coalition.
  • One DC.
  • Science for the People (till 1989), then DC Metro Science for the People.
  • Helped establish the DC Public Bank with Steve Seuser and Ruth Caplan.[71]

Personal life and death

David Schwartzman grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where he attended Stuyvesant High School. After he graduated, he went on to get his B.S. degree in biology and geology at City College of New York. He then went on to Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where he completed his MS and PhD degrees in geochemistry. He then joined the faculty at Howard University in Washington, DC, where he worked for the next 39 years.

Spending almost all of his adult life in the District of Columbia was emblematic of his core concerns and interests. For a person who dedicated his life to the sciences and to social, environmental, and political activism, where better to live than Washington, DC? The National Science Foundation and a host of other science organizations are based in the DC area. And, of course, Washington is the hub of all things political. In addition, his long career at Howard University, the premier Historically Black University in the United States, provided opportunities to not only immerse himself in the sciences, but also immerse himself in a context where his racial, social, environmental, and political activism was appreciated and supported.

David Schwartzman was briefly married to Barbara Ann Major in 1966, with whom he had a son, Peter. In later years, with his longtime partner, Emilie Junge, he had another son, Samuel. He met Joanne Fleming at a Washington, DC Human Rights Candle Light Vigil in 2001. Together until his death, they married in 2025.

David Schwartzman died of complications from prostate cancer on July 1, 2025. He told very few people of his illness and continued to be active up until shortly before his death. In fact, he presented a paper at a conference in Venice, Italy, just three and a half months before he died, and participated in a Zoom meeting of the DC Fair Budget Coalition just one week before his death. He leaves behind his wife, Joanne Fleming, sons, Sam and Peter, grandchildren, and nieces and nephews.

Awards and recognition

2025 — Resolution from the Board of Trustees, Howard University, honoring and commemorating the outstanding contributions of Dr. David W. Schwartzman.

Howard University Resolution

2025, August 15 — A Ceremonial Resolution ACR26-0072 by the Council of the District of Columbia, "To recognize, honor, and celebrate the life of Dr. David W. Schwartzman for his decades-long commitment to climate, economic, and social justice in the District of Columbia." Published in DC Register, Vol. 72, Page 008963. URL: https://legiscan.com/DC/text/CER26-0072/id/3261135/Washington_D_C_-2025-CER26-0072-Introduced.pdf

Publications

Books

Schwartzman, D. W. (2021). The global solar commons, the future that is still possible: A guide for 21st Century activists. Washington, DC: The Solar Utopia.org Press.

Schwartzman, P., & Schwartzman, D. (2019). The Earth is Not for Sale: A Path Out of Fossil Capitalism to the Other World That is Still Possible. Singapore: World Scientific.

Schwartzman, David W. (2002). Life, Temperature, and the Earth: The Self-Organizing Biosphere (2nd ed.). New York: Columbia University Press.

Schwartzman, David W. (1999). Life, Temperature, and the Earth: The Self-Organizing Biosphere. New York: Columbia University Press.

Book Chapters

Schwartzman, D. W. (2018) The dialectics of biospheric evolution. In T. Awerbuch, M. S. Clark, & P. J. Taylor (eds.), The truth is the whole: Essays in honor of Richard Levins. Arlington, MA: The Pumping Station.

Schwartzman, D., & Schwartzman, P. (2012). A rapid solar transition is not only possible, it is imperative. In H. Carwell, B. Grant, G. Kadoda, J Tharakan, J. Trimble, & C. Verharen (Eds.), Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Appropriate Technology (pp. 109-116).

Schwartzman, D. W. (2010). Was the origin of the lichen symbiosis triggered by declining atmospheric carbon dioxide levels? In T. H. Nash III, L. Geiser, B. McCune, D. Triebel, A. M.F Toescu, & W.B. Sanders (Eds.), Biology of Lichens, Volume 105 (pp. 191-196). Stuttgart, Germany: Bibliotheca Lichenologica.

Schwartzman, D. W., & Knauth, L. P. (2009). A hot climate on early Earth: Implications to biospheric evolution. In K. J. Meech, J. V. Keane, M. J. Mumma, J. L. Siefert, & D. J. Werthimer (Eds.), Bioastronomy 2007: Molecules, Microbes, and Extraterrestrial Life, Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series, Vol. 420 (pp. 221-228). San Francisco, CA: Astronomical Society of the Pacific Coast.

Schwartzman, D. W. (2008). Coevolution of the biosphere and climate. In S. E. Jorgensen & B. Faith (Eds.), Encyclopedia of ecology (pp. 648-658). Oxford, UK: Elsevier.

Schwartzman, D., & Lineweaver, C. H. (2005). Temperature, biogenesis and biospheric self-organization, In A. Kleidon & R. D. Lorenz (Eds.), Non-equilibrium thermodynamics and the production of entropy: Life, Earth, and beyond (pp.207-221). Heidelberg, Germany: Springer Berlin.

Schwartzman, D., & Lineweaver, C. H. (2004). Precambrian surface temperatures and molecular phylogeny. In R.P. Norris & F.H. Stootman (Eds.), Bioastronomy 2002: Life Among the Stars. Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union Symposium, 213 (pp. 355-358). San Francisco, CA: Astronomical Society of the Pacific.

Schwartzman D.W., & Volk, T. (2004). Does Life Drive Disequilibrium in the Biosphere? In S. H. Schneider, J. R., Miller, E. Crist, E., & P. .J. Boston (Eds.), Scientists Debate Gaia: 2000 (pp. 129-135. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Lineweaver, C. H., & Schwartzman, D. (2004), Cosmic thermobiology, thermal constraints on the origin and evolution of life. In J. Seckbach (Ed.), Origins: Genesis, evolution and biodiversity of microbial life in the Universe (pp. 233-248). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer.

Schwartzman, D. W. (2001). Playing the tape again, a deterministic theory of biosphere/biotic evolution, pp. 53-60; Biotic enhancement of weathering: the geophysiology of climatic evolution. In S. Guerzoni, S. Harding, T. Lenton, & F. Ricci Lucchi (Eds.), Earth System Science - A new subject for study (Geophysiology) or a new philosophy? International School Earth and Planetary Science, Proceedings'(pp. 81-88), Siena, Italy. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Energy.

Schwartzman, D., & Middendorf, G. (2000). Biospheric cooling and the emergence of intelligence. In G. Memarchand & K. Meech (Eds.), A new era in bioastronomy, ASP Conference Series, Vol. 213 (pp. 425-429). San Francisco, CA: Astronomical Society of the Pacific.

Schwartzman, D. (1998). Life was thermophilic for the first two-thirds of Earth's history. In J. Wiegel, & M. Adams (Eds.), Thermophiles: The keys to molecular evolution and the origin of life? (pp. 33-43). New York: Taylor and Francis.

Schwartzman, D. W., & Shore, S. N. (1996). Biotically mediated surface cooling and habitability for complex life. In L. R. Doyle (Ed.), Proceedings of the First International Conference of Circumstellar Habitable Zones (pp. 421-443). Menlo Park, CA: Travis House Publishing.

Jackson, L.L., Ford, J. & Schwartzman, D. (1993). Collection and chemical analysis of lichens for biomonitoring. In L. S. Huckaby (Ed.), Lichens as Bioindicators of Air Quality, USDA Forest Service, General Technical Report RM-224 (pp. 96-115). Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. https://www.fs.usda.gov/rm/pubs_rm/rm_gtr224.pdf

Schwartzman, D. W., & Volk, T. (1991). Geophysiology and habitable zones around sun-like stars. In J. Heidmann and M.J. Klein Bioastronomy (Eds), Lecture notes in physics. Bioastronomy: The search of extraterrestrial life - The exploration broadens. Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Bioastronomy, Held at Val Cenis, Savoie, France, June 18-23, 1990. Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag.

Schwartzman, D. W., Evans, J., Okrend, H., & Aung, S. (1991). Microbial weathering and Gaia. In S. H. Schneider and P. J. Boston (Eds.), Scientists on Gaia (pp. 320-329). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Schwartzman, D. W., & Richard, L. J. (1988). Being optimistic about SETI. In G. Marx (Ed.), Bioastronomy — The next steps. Proceedings of the 99th Colloquium of the International Astronomical Union held at Balaton, Hungary, June, 22-27, 1987 (pp. 305-312). Dordrecht, Germany: Kluwer Academic Publishing.

Schwartzman, D. W. (1978). On the ambient mantle 4He/40Ar ratio and the coherent model of degassing of the Earth. In E. C. Alexander and M. Ozima (Eds.), Terrestrial Rare Gases: Proceedings of the U.S.-Japan Seminar on Rare Gas Abundance and Isotopic Constraints on the Origin and Evolution of the Earth's Atmosphere (pp. 185-191). Dordrecht, Germany: Springer Nature.

Articles

Schwartzman, P., & Schwartzman, David. (2021). Can the 1.5℃ warming target be met in a global transition to 100% renewable energy? AIMS Energy, 9(6), 1170-1191. doi: 10.3934/energy.2021054

Mills, B. J. W., Tennenbaum, S., & Schwartzman, David. (2021). Exploring multiple steady states in Earth's long-term carbon cycle" American Journal of Science, 321(7) 1033-1044. doi: 10.2475/07.2021.01

Schwartzman, D. W. (2020). Biospheric evolution is coarsely deterministic. Journal of Big History, IV(2), 50-66.

Schwartzman, D. W. (2017). Life's critical role in the long-term carbon cycle: The biotic enhancement of weathering. AIMS Geosciences, 3(2), 216-238. DOI: 10.3934/geosci.2017.2.216

Schwartzman, D. W. (2016). Interactive Comment on 'Revolutions in Energy Input and Material Cycling in Earth History and Human History' by T.M. Lenton et al." Earth System Dynamics Discussions, C, 1–C8. doi:10.5194/esd-2015-90-RC1

Schwartzman, D. W. (2015). The case for a hot Archean climate and its implications to the history of the biosphere (No. arXiv:1504.00401). arXiv. https//doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.1504.00401

Verharen, C., Bugarin, F., Schwartzman, D., Tharakan, J., Gutema, B., Fortunak, J., & Middendorf, G. (2015). Ethics and extinction: Micro versus macro appropriate technology. African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 7, 381-385. DOI: 10.1080/20421338.2015.1085181

Wilkinson, David, M., Creevy, Angela L., Kalu, Chiamaka L., & Schwartzman, David. W. (2015). Are heterotrophic and silica-rich eukaryotic microbes an important part of the lichen symbiosis? Mycology, 6(1), 4-7. DOI: 10.1080/21501203.2014.974084

Schwartzman, D. &. Schwartzman, P. (2014). A rapid solar transition is not only possible, it is imperative! African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 5(4), 297-302.

Schwartzman, D. &. Schwartzman, P. (2012). A rapid solar transition is not only possible, it is imperative. In H. Carwell, B. Grant., G. Kadoda, J. Tharakan, J. Trimble, & C. Zambell, C. B., Adams, J. M., Gorring, M. L., & Schwartzman, D. W.. Effect of lichen colonization on chemical weathering of hornblende granite as estimated by aqueous elemental flux. Chemical Geology, 291, 166-174.

Schwartzman, D. W. (2011). Interactive comment on "The regulation of the air: a hypothesis" by E. G. Nisbet et al. Solid Earth Discussions, 3, C459–C462.

Schwartzman, D., & Middendorf, G. (2011). Multiple paths to encephalization and technical civilizations. Origin of Life and Evolution of Biospheres 41, 581–585.

Schwartzman, P. , & Schwartzman, D. W. (2011). A Solar Transition is Possible. Institute for Policy Research & Development Report, March. London, UK: Institute for Policy Research & Development. https://solarutopia.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/A-Solar-Transition-is-Possible_new.pdf

Schwartzman, D. W. (2010). Is biology the prime driver of surface processes? Comment on "Life, hierarchy, and the thermodynamic machinery of planet Earth" by A. Kleidon. Physics of Life Reviews 7, 461–462.

Schwartzman, D. W. (2009). Interactive comment on "Thermodynamic origin of life" by K. Michaelian. Earth System. Dynamics Discussions, 1, C4-C9.

Schwartzman, D., Middendorf. G., & Armour-Chelu, M. (2009). Was climate the prime releaser for encephalization? Climatic Change, 95(3), 439-447.

Schwartzman, D., Caldeira, K., & Pavlov, A. (2008). Cyanobacterial emergence at 2.8 Gya and greenhouse feedbacks. Astrobiology, 8(1), 187-203.

Schwartzman, David W. (2008). The limits to entropy: Continuing misuse of thermodynamics in environmental and Marxist theory. Science & Society, 72(1), 43-62. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40404457

Schwartzman, D. (2006). Discussion of Wachtershauser paper, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 361, 1806.

Schwartzman, D. (2006). Discussion of Canfield et al. paper, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 361, 1835.

Schwartzman, D. (2006). Comment, Role of river-suspended material in the global carbon cycle. Geology, 34(1), e112. doi: 10.1130/G22686C.1.

Schwartzman, D., & Lineweaver, C. H. (2004). The hyperthermophilic origin of life revisited. Biochemical Society Transaction, 32, 168-171.

Boucher, D., Schwartzman, D., Zara, J., & Caplan, P. (2003). Another look at the end of the world. Capitalism, Nature, Socialism, 14(3), 123-131. DOI: 10.1080/10455750308565538

Aghamiri, Rasoul, & Schwartzman, David W. (2002). Weathering rates of bedrock by lichens: A mini watershed study. Chemical Geology, 188(3-4), 249-259. DOI: 10.1016/S0009-2541(02)00105-5

Clow, M., Schwartzman, D., & Lovejoy, D. (1998). Solar energy is no panacea for ecological limits on economic activity. Science & Society, 62(2), 266-280. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40403702

MacDermott, A. J., Barron, L. D., Brack, A., Buhse, T., Drake, A. F., Emery, R., Gottarelli, G., Greenberg, J. M., Haberle, R., Hegstrom, R. A., Hobbs, K., Kondepudi, D. K., McKay, C., Moorbath, S., Raulin, F., Sandford, M., Schwartzman, D. W., Thiemann, W. H.-P., Tranter, G. E., & Zarnecki, J. C. (1996) Homochirality as the signature of life: the SETH Cigar. Planetary and Space Sciences, 44, 1441-1446.

Schwartzman, D. W. (1996). Comment on "Weathering, plants, and the long term carbon cycle" by Robert A. Berner. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 57, 2145-2146.

Schwartzman, D. W., McMenamin, M., & Volk, T. (1996). Did surface temperatures constrain microbial evolution?, Bioscience, 43, 390-393.

Schwartzman, David. (1996). Marxism and ecology. Introduction. Science & Society, 60(3), 261–265. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40403570

Schwartzman, David W. (1996). Solar communism. Science & Society, 60(3), 307-331. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40403574

Schwartzman, D. W., Shore, S. N., Volk, T., & McMenamin, M. (1994). Self-organization of the Earth's biosphere-geochemical or geophysiological? Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere, 24, 435–450. DOI: 10.1007/BF01582019

Schwartzman, D. W., & Volk, T. (1992). Biotic enhancement of Earth habitability. In W. A. Nierenberg (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Earth System Science, Volume 1 (pp. 387-294). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

Schwartzman, D. W., & Volk, T.. (1991). Biotic enhancement of weathering and surface temperatures on Earth since the origin of life. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 90(4), 357-371. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-0182(12)80035-6

Schwartzman, D. W., Stieff, L., Kasim, M., Kombe, E., Aung, S., Atekwana, E., Johnson Jr., J. & Schwartzman, K. (1991). An ion-exchange model of lead-210 and lead uptake in a foliose lichen; application to quantitative monitoring of airborne lead fallout. Science of the Total Environment, 100, 319-336.

Schwartzman, D. W., & Volk, T. (1989). Biotic enhancement of weathering and the habitability of Earth. Nature, 340, 457-460. DOI: 10.1038/340457a0

Schwartzman, D. W., & Richard, L. J. (1988). Being optimistic about SETI. American Scientist, 76(4), 364-369.

Schwartzman, D. W., Kasim, M., Stieff, L., & Johnson Jr. J H. (1987). Quantitative monitoring of airborne lead pollution by a foliose lichen. Water, Air and Soil Pollution, 32, 363-378.

Tera, O., Schwartzman, D., & Watkins, T. R. (1985). Identification of gasoline lead in children's blood using isotopic analysis. Archives of Environmental Health: An International Journal, 40(2), 120-123. DOI: 10.1080/00039896.1985.10545901

Schwartzman, D. W. (1979). On a model of preferential degassing of the upper mantle. Nature, 281, 610.

Schwartzman, D. W. (1977). The absence of extraterrestrials on earth and the prospects for CETI. Icarus, 32(4), 473-475. DOI: 10.1016/0019-1035(77)90021-5

Schwartzman, D. W., & Giletti, B. J. (1977). Argon diffusion and absorption studies on pyroxene from Stillwater Complex, Montana. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 60, 143-159.

Schwartzman, D. W. (1977). The absence of extraterrestrials on Earth and the prospects for CETI. Icarus, 32, 473-475.

Schwartzman, D. W. (1977). Argon degassing and the origin of the sialic crust. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 37, 2479-2495.

Alexander, Jr, E. C., & Schwartzman, D. W. (1976). Argon isotopic evolution of upper mantle. Nature, 259(5539), 104-106.

Schwartzman, D. W. (1975). Althusser, dialectical materialism and the philosophy of science. Science & Society, 39(3), 318-330. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40401861

Schwartzman, D. W. (1975). Ar degassing and the origin of the sialic crust. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 37(11), 2479-2495. DOI: 10.1016/0016-7037(73)90293-7

Schwartzman, D. W. (1973). Argon degassing models of the Earth. Nature Physical Science, 245, 20–21. https://doi.org/10.1038/physci245020a0

References

  1. ↑ Engel-Di Mauro, S. (2026). Obituary note: David William Schwartzman (1943-2025). Science & Society. DOI: 10.1177/00368237251396688
  2. ↑ Faber, D., & Engel-Di Mauro, S. (2025). David William Schwartzman (1943-2025): A dedicated ecosocialist warrior for the other world that is still possible. Capitalism, Nature, Socialism, 36(3), 21-23. DOI: 10.1080/10455752.2025.2535051
  3. ↑ Vinson III, B., & Howard University Board of Trustees. (2025). Resolution on the Recognition of David W. Schwartzman's contributions to the University. Washington, DC: Office of the President of Howard University.
  4. ↑ WP Washington Post (2025). David Schwartzman Obituary. The Washington Post (Legacy), July 13. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/david-schwartzman-obituary
  5. ↑ Engel-Di Mauro, S. (2026). Obituary note: David William Schwartzman (1943-2025). Science & Society. DOI: 10.1177/00368237251396688
  6. ↑ EvoDevo Universe. (2025). David W. Schwartzman. EvoDevo Universe. https://evodevouniverse.org/wiki/David_W_Schwartzman/
  7. ↑ Faber, D., & Engel-Di Mauro, S. (2025). David William Schwartzman (1943-2025): A dedicated ecosocialist warrior for the other world that is still possible. Capitalism, Nature, Socialism, 36(3), 21-23. DOI: 10.1080/10455752.2025.2535051
  8. ↑ Hawkins, H. (2025). Remembering David Schwartzman, ecosocialist climate scientist and Green Party activist. New Green Horizons Webzine, August 13. https://newgreenhorizons.us/remembering-david-schwartzman-ecosocialist-climate-scientist-and-green-party-activist/
  9. ↑ Vinson III, B., & Howard University Board of Trustees. (2025). Resolution on the Recognition of David W. Schwartzman's contributions to the University. Washington, DC: Office of the President of Howard University.
  10. ↑ WP Washington Post (2025). David Schwartzman Obituary. The Washington Post (Legacy), July 13. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/david-schwartzman-obituary
  11. ↑ EvoDevo Universe. (2025). David W. Schwartzman. EvoDevo Universe. https://evodevouniverse.org/wiki/David_W_Schwartzman/
  12. ↑ Faber, D., & Engel-Di Mauro, S. (2025). David William Schwartzman (1943-2025): A dedicated ecosocialist warrior for the other world that is still possible. Capitalism, Nature, Socialism, 36(3), 21-23. DOI: 10.1080/10455752.2025.2535051
  13. ↑ Hawkins, H. (2025). Remembering David Schwartzman, ecosocialist climate scientist and Green Party activist. New Green Horizons Webzine, August 13. https://newgreenhorizons.us/remembering-david-schwartzman-ecosocialist-climate-scientist-and-green-party-activist/
  14. ↑ Stand, K. (2025). The legend of David Schwartzman. Washington Socialist, fall. https://washingtonsocialist.mdcdsa.org/ws-articles/25-10-david-schwartzman-obit
  15. ↑ Vinson III, B., & Howard University Board of Trustees. (2025). Resolution on the Recognition of David W. Schwartzman's contributions to the University. Washington, DC: Office of the President of Howard University.
  16. ↑ Washington Post (2025). David Schwartzman Obituary. The Washington Post (Legacy), July 13. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/david-schwartzman-obituary
  17. ↑ Engel-Di Mauro, S. (2026). Obituary note: David William Schwartzman (1943-2025). Science & Society. DOI: 10.1177/00368237251396688
  18. ↑ EvoDevo Universe. (2025). David W. Schwartzman. EvoDevo Universe. https://evodevouniverse.org/wiki/David_W_Schwartzman/
  19. ↑ Washington Post (2025). David Schwartzman Obituary. The Washington Post (Legacy), July 13. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/david-schwartzman-obituary
  20. ↑ Engel-Di Mauro, S. (2026). Obituary note: David William Schwartzman (1943-2025). Science & Society. DOI: 10.1177/00368237251396688
  21. ↑ Stand, K. (2025). The legend of David Schwartzman. Washington Socialist, fall. https://washingtonsocialist.mdcdsa.org/ws-articles/25-10-david-schwartzman-obit
  22. ↑ https://snaccooperative.org/histeory/44371697/6481662
  23. ↑ https://www.highlandsnaturefriends.org/history.html
  24. ↑ EvoDevo Universe. (2025). David W. Schwartzman. EvoDevo Universe. https://evodevouniverse.org/wiki/David_W_Schwartzman/
  25. ↑ Engel-Di Mauro, S. (2026). Obituary note: David William Schwartzman (1943-2025). Science & Society. DOI: 10.1177/00368237251396688
  26. ↑ Engel-Di Mauro, S. (2026). Obituary note: David William Schwartzman (1943-2025). Science & Society. DOI: 10.1177/00368237251396688
  27. ↑ EvoDevo Universe. (2025). David W. Schwartzman. EvoDevo Universe. https://evodevouniverse.org/wiki/David_W_Schwartzman/
  28. ↑ Faber, D., & Engel-Di Mauro, S. (2025). David William Schwartzman (1943-2025): A dedicated ecosocialist warrior for the other world that is still possible. Capitalism, Nature, Socialism, 36(3), 21-23. DOI: 10.1080/10455752.2025.2535051
  29. ↑ Hawkins, H. (2025). Remembering David Schwartzman, ecosocialist climate scientist and Green Party activist. New Green Horizons Webzine, August 13. https://newgreenhorizons.us/remembering-david-schwartzman-ecosocialist-climate-scientist-and-green-party-activist/
  30. ↑ Stand, K. (2025). The legend of David Schwartzman. Washington Socialist, fall. https://washingtonsocialist.mdcdsa.org/ws-articles/25-10-david-schwartzman-obit
  31. ↑ https://www.historicalmaterialism.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/HM-2024-Programme.pdf
  32. ↑ Kuhn, T. S. (1970). The structure of scientific revolutions (2nd, enlarged eds.). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
  33. ↑ Verharen, C., Bugarin, F., Schwartzman, D., Tharakan, J., Gutema, B., Fortunak, J., & Middendorf, G. (2015). Ethics and extinction: Micro versus macro appropriate technology. African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 7, 381-385. DOI: 10.1080/20421338.2015.1085181
  34. ↑ Schwartzman, D., & Middendorf, G. (2011). Multiple paths to encephalization and technical civilizations. Origin of Life and Evolution of Biospheres 41, 581–585
  35. ↑ Schwartzman, David W. (2008). The limits to entropy: Continuing misuse of thermodynamics in environmental and Marxist theory. Science & Society, 72(1), 43-62. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40404457
  36. ↑ Clow, M., Schwartzman, D., & Lovejoy, D. (1998). Solar energy is no panacea for ecological limits on economic activity. Science & Society, 62(2), 266-280. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40403702
  37. ↑ Schwartzman, David W. (1996). Solar communism. Science & Society, 60(3), 307-331. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40403574
  38. ↑ Schwartzman, D. W. (1975). Althusser, dialectical materialism and the philosophy of science. Science & Society, 39(3), 318-330. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40401861
  39. ↑ Schwartzman, D. W. (1975). Althusser, dialectical materialism and the philosophy of science. Science & Society, 39(3), 318-330. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40401861
  40. ↑ Schwartzman, D. W., Shore, S. N., Volk, T., & McMenamin, M. (1994). Self-organization of the Earth's biosphere-geochemical or geophysiological? Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere, 24, 435–450. DOI: 10.1007/BF01582019
  41. ↑ Schwartzman, D.S. (2020). Biospheric evolution is coarsely deterministic. Journal of Big History, IV(J2), 60-66.
  42. ↑ Schwartzman, D. (1999). Life, Temperature, and the Earth. New York: Columbia University Press.
  43. ↑ Lovelock, J. (1979). Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth. New York: Oxford University Press.
  44. ↑ EvoDevo Universe. (2025). David W. Schwartzman. EvoDevo Universe. https://evodevouniverse.org/wiki/David_W_Schwartzman/
  45. ↑ Schwartzman and T. Volk, Biotic enhancement of weathering and surface temperatures on Earth since the origin of life. Palaeogeography. Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology (Global and Planetary Change Sect.) 90, 357-371.
  46. ↑ Feulner, Georg. (2012). The faint young Sun problem. Reviews of Geophysics, 50(2). doi:10.1029/2011RG000375
  47. ↑ EvoDevo Universe. (2025). David W. Schwartzman. EvoDevo Universe. https://evodevouniverse.org/wiki/David_W_Schwartzman/
  48. ↑ Schwartzman, David. (2002). The Case for a Hot Archean Climate and its Implications to the History of the Biosphere. Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, 34(6), 203
  49. ↑ Knauth, L. Paul.(2005). Temperature and salinity history of the Precambrian ocean: implications for the course of microbial evolution. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 219(1–2), 53–69. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2004.10.014.
  50. ↑ Lineweaver, Charles H., and David W. Schwartzman. (2004). Cosmic Thermobiology: Thermal Constraints on the Origin and Evolution of Life in the Universe. In Dick, Steven J., and James E. Strick (eds.), The Biological Universe: The Twentieth Century Extraterrestrial Life Debate and the Limits of Science (pp. 191–216). New York: Cambridge University Press.
  51. ↑ Schwartzman, David. (2013). Coevolution of the Biosphere and Climate. Encyclopedia of Biodiversity, pp. 1–11. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-384719-5.00037-9.
  52. ↑ Gould, Stephen Jay, & Niles Eldredge. (1977). Punctuated Equilibria: The Tempo and Mode of Evolution Reconsidered. Paleobiology, 3(2), 115–151.
  53. ↑ Mills, D. B., Macalady, J. L., Frank, A., & Wright, J. T. (2025). A reassessment of the "hard-steps" model for the evolution of intelligent life. Science Advances, 11(7). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ads5698
  54. ↑ Schwartzman, David. (2016). The Credentials Committee of the Galactic Club: The Eerie Silence, the Fermi Paradox, and the Future of Humanity. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
  55. ↑ Tera, O., Schwartzman, D. and Watkins, T. (1985). Identification of gasoline lead in children's blood using isotopic analysis. Archives of Environmental Health, 40(2), 120-123.
  56. ↑ Fleming, J., Junge, E., & Schwarzman, S. (2025). From David's family. In DC Statehood Party, Dr. David Schwartzman 1943-2025. Green Party US. https://www.gp..org/dr_david_schwartzman
  57. ↑ DC Statehood Party. (2025). Dr. David Schwartzman, 1943-2025. Green Party US. https://www.gp.org/dr_david_schwartzman
  58. ↑ Faber, D., & Engel-Di Mauro, S. (2025). David William Schwartzman (1943-2025): A dedicated ecosocialist warrior for the other world that is still possible. Capitalism, Nature, Socialism, 36(3), 21-23. DOI: 10.1080/10455752.2025.2535051
  59. ↑ Hawkins, H. (2025). Remembering David Schwartzman, ecosocialist climate scientist and Green Party activist. New Green Horizons Webzine, August 13. https://newgreenhorizons.us/remembering-david-schwartzman-ecosocialist-climate-scientist-and-green-party-activist/
  60. ↑ Fleming, J., Junge, E., & Schwartzman, S. In DC Statehood Party. (2025). Dr. David Schwartzman, 1943-2025. Green Party US. https://www.gp.org/dr_david_schwartzman
  61. ↑ Schwartzman, David. (1996). Marxism and ecology. Introduction. Science & Society, 60(3), 261–265. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40403570
  62. ↑ Schwartzman, David W. (1996). Solar communism. Science & Society, 60(3), 307-331. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40403574
  63. ↑ Stand, K. (2025). The legend of David Schwartzman. Washington Socialist, fall. https://washingtonsocialist.mdcdsa.org/ws-articles/25-10-david-schwartzman-obit
  64. ↑ DC Statehood Party. (2025). Dr. David Schwartzman, 1943-2025. Green Party US. https://www.gp.org/dr_david_schwartzman
  65. ↑ Faber, D., & Engel-Di Mauro, S. (2025). David William Schwartzman (1943-2025): A dedicated ecosocialist warrior for the other world that is still possible. Capitalism, Nature, Socialism, 36(3), 21-23. DOI: 10.1080/10455752.2025.2535051
  66. ↑ Hawkins, H. (2025). Remembering David Schwartzman, ecosocialist climate scientist and Green Party activist. New Green Horizons Webzine, August 13. https://newgreenhorizons.us/remembering-david-schwartzman-ecosocialist-climate-scientist-and-green-party-activist/
  67. ↑ Stand, K. (2025). The legend of David Schwartzman. Washington Socialist, fall. https://washingtonsocialist.mdcdsa.org/ws-articles/25-10-david-schwartzman-obit
  68. ↑ Glass, A. (2016). Chairman of the Joint Chiefs heckled at university, Nov. 15, 1966. Politico, November 15. https://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/chairman-of-the-joint-chiefs-heckled-at-university-nov-15-1966-231305
  69. ↑ Personal communication, Joanne Fleming, October 15, 2025
  70. ↑ Personal communication, Joanne Fleming, October 15, 2025
  71. ↑ https://www.dcpublicbanking.org/steering_committee

External links

Solar Utopia - https://solarutopia.org/

The Earth Is Not for Sale — https://www.theearthisnotforsale.org/

Life, Temperature, and the Earth - https://cup.columbia.edu/book/life-temperature-and-the-earth/9780231102124/

“What’s the Matter with Abundance” - https://thebaffler.com/latest/whats-the-matter-with-abundance-harris

Green Party Obituary - https://www.gp.org/dr_david_schwartzman

Washington Post Obituary - https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/david-schwartzman-obituary/?id+58864737

New Green Horizons Obituary - https://newgreenhorizons.us/remembering-david-schwartzman-ecosocialist-climate-scientist-and-green-paty-activist

Washington Socialist Obituary - https://washingtonsocialist.mdcdsa.org/ws-articles/25-10-david-schwartzman-obit

EvoDevo article about David Schwartzman - https://evodevouniverse.com/wiki/David_W_Schwartzman

Faber & Engel-Di Mauro obituary in the journal, Capitalism Nature Socialism - https://doi.org/10.1080/10455752.2025.2535051

Engel-Di Mauro obituary in the journal, Science & Society - https://doi.org/10.1177/00368237251396688


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