Without carbon dioxide, life as we know it on earth would end in sudden, spectacular fashion - but too much of anything can be a bad thing, and that goes for vegan food or a key component in photosynthesis like CO2.

Lawyers at the Center for Biological Diversity and oceanographer Dr. Donn Viviani have petitioned the Obama administration to regulate carbon dioxide under the federal Toxic Substances Control Act.

“Time’s running out to avoid a mass extinction of wildlife in our oceans,” said staff attorney Miyoko Sakashita. “It may not look like a toxic chemical, but when there’s too much CO2 in the ocean, it turns seawater corrosive and dissolves the protective shells that marine animals need to survive.”

The oceans absorb more than 22 million tons of CO2 each day, and estimates are that on average the oceans are 30 percent more acidic now than at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

“We’re asking the EPA to prevent ocean acidification now by regulating CO2 emissions under the same law that helped reduce the chlorofluorocarbons that were causing the ozone hole. We’ve solved big environmental problems before and our petition shows the EPA a path to take bold action and leadership to save our oceans,” Viviani said.

The petition seeks to regulate CO2 as a chemical substance under the Toxic Substances Control Act, which has been used in the past to regulate harmful chemicals such as PCBs and asbestos. The law requires the EPA to regulate chemicals that present an unreasonable risk to the environment and conduct testing for harmful effects of chemicals that are produced in large quantities. The novel approach of using the Act to regulate CO2 could complement other efforts to reduce the CO2 emissions that are contributing to ocean acidification.

Under the Act the EPA has broad authority to require polluters to reduce emissions, keep records, sequester or take back chemicals produced. There are many industries that are not achieving the greatest CO2 reductions available through energy conservation and existing technology, and EPA action under this landmark law could implement many cost-effective CO2 reductions.

“Future generations will look back and wonder why we didn’t do everything we could to save the world’s oceans,” Sakashita said. “Failure to act is a decision to let our sea life die off and disappear. We can’t let that happen.”