Q: Without warning or consultation, our new neighbor cut down the trees that separated our properties, destroying our privacy and views. He had the legal right to do this — I checked with the county — but does he have an ethical obligation to mitigate or repair the damage or compensate us in some way? — J.T.
A: The law may have permitted it, but your neighbor should set a higher standard than mere legality.
The law itself can be subject to ethical scrutiny. If it fails to weigh the ecological implications of this ax-wielding on the wider community, it is dubious indeed. By removing those trees, your neighbor wrecked more than your view and privacy. Among other things, he diminished the air quality and perhaps worsened water-runoff problems for the entire area, destroyed something of beauty and most likely lowered the value of his own property — amusing but not enough so to justify the act. (This last, affecting only himself, makes him a knucklehead but does not make him unethical.)
I’m skeptical about restitution. His building you a fence would restore your privacy but not the lost beauty, nor would it address the greater harm he has done to the broader community. As for replanting the trees, even if he acquiesced you would not benefit: Saplings take years to reach shady adulthood. Nor can his handing you some cash increase the oxygen levels in the neighborhood.
Instead, your efforts should be expended on toughening local laws. It is possible, if unlikely, that he had legitimate reasons for his clear-cutting. Is he plagued by allergies? Did those trees threaten his house? Lacking such motives, he acted dreadfully.
Q: My retired friend supplements his income by maintaining our community pool. I was appointed to a committee exploring ways to save money and learned that a pool-cleaning company could do the work for considerably less. My friend depends on this job and has few alternatives in our area. Must I report the company’s quote? — W.M.
A:You’ve gotten yourself in deep water. You must report the cleaning company’s quote: That’s part of the job you took on for the committee. You can’t suppress this information because it might disadvantage a friend. To do so would be cronyism.
When you do file your report, remind the committee that price is not the only consideration. Also significant is how the cleaning company treats its employees. Many municipalities will contract only with companies that pay what is deemed a living wage in their area. And so part of your task is to learn more about this company.
Send questions and comments for Randy Cohen to Universal Press Syndicate, 4520 Main St., Kansas City, MO 64111, or ethicist@nytimes.com.
