A User who signs this agreement and becomes a Member may lose their status as a member if they are banned by Administrators, Moderators, or an ostracism vote reaching a threshold that is conducted by Member voters of KeepTree.org. If an individual is banned and loses their Member status, it does not release them from this legal agreement with KeepTree.org, as they are still a KeepTree.org User, but it does remove their Member status and the ability to use many functions of KeepTree.org, and potentially, at the sole discretion of KeepTree.org, remove their ability to access the addresses and GPS coordinates of individuals who are offering trees for preservation or who have sold contracts for tree preservation. In addition, the loss of Membership Status will remove the ability of members to vote on posts to KeepTree.org and remove their ability to make posts to KeepTree.org. Herein, the word carbon refers to carbon dioxide, and sequestered carbon per year refers to the estimated amount of carbon dioxide that can be removed by a single tree per year is on the order of 50 pounds per year. Additionally, a very large tree can store more than 200 tons, where one ton is 2000 pounds of carbon. The User who agrees to this binding legal contract understands that this contract describes potential features of KeepTree.org that are not implemented now and may never be implemented. However, if they are implemented they will conform to the constraints of this User Agreement. At the sole discretion of KeepTree.org, a new and updated User Agreement may be sent to members at any point in time that they must agree to in order to become members.

The postal address and/or the GPS coordinates of trees to be preserved that were offered by the Selling Party may or may not be made available to members of KeepTree.org at the sole discretion of KeepTree.org for the sole purpose of allowing Members of KeepTree.org to verify the preservation of trees that have been sold under an Ecological Carbon Credits and Storage contract. All members agree not to post identifying information of those who may or may not have violated a Seller contract to any other website or digitally-hosted forum. If a Seller receives in-person or online harassment from a Member, they agree not to sue KeepTree.org, and instead pursue legal and civil remedies against the harassing party. All users agree not to pursue a class action suit against KeepTree.org. If a KeepTree.org user is not a landowner or chooses to never sell the carbon sequestration and storage credits of their trees, then that User’s personal information will never be released on KeepTree.org. However, in order to be a Seller, the User must agree to publish essential information, such as the location of the trees that they own and wish to preserve. It is understood that some Members may attempt to legally verify that a preserved tree whose carbon value was sold by a Seller is still standing for the duration of the contract.

The monetary damage done to the climate when a KeepTree.org slated for preservation occurs is evaluated as the rate per ton of sequestered carbon direct air capture projects launched by very major companies with a market capitalization over $10,000,000 that capture carbon from the air and sequester them underground in mineralized form. This price is currently $500 per ton of sequestered carbon, but is expected to be reduced to $300 per ton in the coming decades. This high agreed upon price does not include companies that temporarily sequester carbon dioxide for resale as compressed CO2 or for resale as wood products or other commercial products, like plastic or graphene. The amount of sequestered carbon in a tree that is slowly released back to the atmosphere after harvesting can exceed 200 tons for very large trees. As an example, the damage for fraudulently cutting down a 200 ton tree is $100,000 dollars. Additionally, people who commit fraud by selling a carbon sequestration contract may also be held liable for the tons of carbon that are not sequestered by the tree for the remainder of the contract period. In signing this agreement and acting as a Seller, the Seller acknowledges that value of the tree for carbon sequestration and storage currently far exceeds its market value as timber. A carbon credits Seller must own the property holding the tree for which they sell for carbon credits and they are vulnerable to a civil suit or small claims court action if they intentionally destroy a tree. Additionally, this person may be reported to legal authorities by KeepTree.org or by Members of KeepTree.org for fraud, identity theft, and other potential crimes with significant sentences, especially considering that carbon sequestration value of a typical tree under this contract is far higher than the value of an unprotected tree that is cut down or fatally vandalized in a manner that violates tree law. By electronically signing this agreement, any Seller acknowledges that the financial damages incurred by breaking the contract are likely far greater than the timber value of the tree and far value than the amount that they were paid to preserve the tree. However, the legal action must be taken by a Member Buyer who purchased carbon sequestration and storage from a Member Seller and was harmed by the fraud committed by a Member Seller. KeepTree.org reserves the right to host micro-litigation finance projects that connect defrauded buyers to 3 rd -party lawyers who may or may not be retainer paid for by KeepTree.org. Any funds transferred to a lawyer may either be placed in an escrow account, or be directly transferred to the lawyer at the sole discretion of KeepTree.org.

At any point in time in the future, KeepTree.org reserves the right to host micro- litigation crowd-sourced litigation finance projects that connect defrauded buyers to lawyers who have at least some background in Tree Law. KeepTree.org has sole discretion of what lawyers are eligible to raise money for micro-litigation-finance projects and can remove their right to finance litigation via KeepTree.org at any time and for any reason. It is understood by the User that such lawyers will not be an available resource in all states and countries. To discourage fraud, KeepTree.org has no obligation to provide information to Buyers regarding lawyers that they could use to remedy fraud. Any future micro-litigation-finance section is produced for the sole value of helping third-party Buyers find third-party lawyers to amend the damage to buyers if they were defrauded by a Seller. KeepTree.org will keep (X)% of fees for site maintenance and improvement for such litigation finance transactions. However, agreeing to this contract means that KeepTree.org is under no obligation to participate in any lawsuit between third parties for any reason. The decision of whether to provide any information to third parties involved in a lawsuit is at the sole discretion of KeepTree.org. However, in the case where KeepTree.org determines that fraud has occurred, they reserve the right to provide digital information as a result of a subpoena, which may include the Address of the Seller, the home address of the Seller, and identities associated with any potentially fraudulent payments to the Seller. It is understood by the User that, until now, fraud has been rampant in carbon credit programs and carbon capture programs, and that any assistance in connecting Buyers to Lawyers is made out of a good-faith effort to ensure that Users who intentionally commit fraud using KeepTree.org potentially face very expensive and time-consuming legal consequences. When Users commit fraud to sell carbon credits, it hurts the value and integrity of ethical transactions.

In singing this agreement, the User understands it is very likely that many Sellers who commit fraud and lose their Member status will not face significant legal and civil consequences. However, at the sole discretion of KeepTree.org, randomized or intentional investigation into the potential that preserved trees were fraudulently harvested. KeepTree.org reserves the right to connect Buyers to Members who are Investigators in any form. An Investigator is an approved Member that investigates whether a tree preserved under contract is cut down and harvested. All Members who are Investigators must agree to obey all laws at all times. Particularly, Investigators cannot commit illegal trespass or engage in legal or civil harassment at any point in time. If an investigator uses a drone to record the state of tree under contract and the investigator receives a payment from a Buyer, then that Investigator must be a licensed commercial drone operator who follows all FAA laws.

Sellers, a person who sells the carbon sequestration value of their tree, agree that their property may be inspected by an Investigator, but only between the local time hours of 11 am to 3:30 pm, and only at a time when no people are outside on the property. An Investigator must be licensed to operate a drone under FAA regulations is given permission to inspect the existence of tree at a height greater than 100 feet above the ground, to a height no more than 400 feet off the ground. It is understood by the Sellers that they may have a public reputation score, or Rep. It is understood that their Rep may increase or decrease as a result of a post made by an Investigator or Member that confirms or disconfirms the continued existence of a tree or ecological resource. It is understood that satellite data collected using any electromagnetic frequency, including visible wavelength photographs, may be used by KeepTree.org or any Investigators or Members to confirm or deny the continued existence of a tree or resource that serves as a carbon sequestering resource or ecological resource. The Seller understands that single Members and groups of Members may pool their resources to commission or reward an Investigator who verifies the adherence to the contract between Buyers and Sellers.

All investigators agree that any drone photographs or videos of trees must be taken at an altitude that is lower than 400 feet, to obey FAA regulations. As an additional constraint, and to avoid, harassing landowners with noise pollution, all drone operation over a Buyer property by and Investigator must occur at an altitude that exceeds 100 feet, at the risk of losing Member and Investigator status. As a further constraint, no photos or videos of people may be taken or preserved when investigating whether or not a Seller has harvested a tree. No drone flights may be taken when people are present outside on the property, and if people move outside during an overflight, the drone flight must immediately cease, video recording should be turned off, and the drone should return to the nearest public street or public place with an airspace that allows drone flights. Further, in some areas, like those near airports, the FAA imposes a flight ceiling less than 200 feet. In these areas, Investigators are prohibited from a drone overflight when investigating whether a Seller’s tree is still sequestering carbon, regardless of whether they have rights to do so as a drone operator. Investigators who violate this risk losing their Investigator and Member status. All Sellers agree that photographs or videos of trees that they sold for carbon credits can be taken by Investigators who are standing in a street or public place but only at a time when no people are present outside or visible through windows, and only between the ours of 11 am and 4 pm local time. It is understood by sellers that Investigators and Members can make posts promoting the results of an investigation so long as the post complies with the Terms of Service of KeepTree.org. Any photos or videos posted by an Investigator or Member should include no people, unless they are taking camera or drone photos or video of themselves by a tree or a stump. Keep tree assumes no liability for Investigators who violate the terms of Service and legal remediation is to be directed at any Investigator who violated the rights of a Seller in contradiction of this User Agreement.

KeepTree.org reserves the right to keep its own internal statistics on carbon sequestration and storage that rely on scientific studies that were published in reputable journals. Keep tree reserves the right to use Artificial Intelligence to gather tree creation and destruction data using photographic, drone, or satellite data, and use this data to suggest the value of trees and ecosystems that are sold by landowners/sellers. The User understands that it is very difficult to accurately calculate the carbon sequestration and storage value of a particular species of tree in a particular microclimate, including its living root system and the native plants that sequester carbon as part of their relationship with a living tree. KeepTree.org intends to level scientific research to more accurately value the tons of CO2 and other pollutants that are removed from the atmosphere by living trees, however, any published estimates at this point in time can only be considered rough first-order estimates. KeepTree.org cannot be held liable by its Users for initial inaccuracies for its estimates. KeepTree.org cannot be held liable by any external corporation that sold carbon credits to KeepTree.org for inaccuracies in its estimates. All data on KeepTree.org, including this User Agreement and any photos or videos posted on KeepTree.org are the exclusive property of KeepTree.org. This data cannot be legally exported by a User to transfer it to any third party, including to any third-party lawyer. Any and all data posted on KeepTree.org that was originally produce by the poster is owned by KeepTree.org and can be published or released to third parties at the sole discretion of KeepTree.org.

At any future point in time, KeepTree.org reserves the right to sell carbon credits to external companies, countries, and transnational bodies, such as the European Union and to use the Seller contracts to value those carbon credits. In such cases, KeepTree.org will keep 4% of the U.S. dollars remaining after currency transfers after such a sale. The remaining 96% percent will be credited to the Seller and Buyer at a floating ratio that can optionally be fixed by KeepTree.org, or that can be allowed to fluctuate as a market between Buyers and Sellers. However, it is understood by the User that KeepTree.org has not made the decision to sell carbon credits to third parties at any point in time and no guarantees can be made that any Buyer, Seller, or Member will receive additional income related to the sale of carbon credits at any point in time. The decision of whether to engage in external carbon credits markets or to disengage from them is at the sole discretion of KeepTree.org at all points in time. The sale prices of any carbon credits is solely determined by KeepTree.org, and it retains all control over how to value those carbon credits, which may or may not include any future internal market. If KeepTree.org engages in relationships with third party banks, those banks may exist in any state, be incorporated on any tribal reservation, or exist in other countries. Users may not sue KeepTree.org for issues that were created by any third-party banks.