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ENVIRONMENTAL CONFLICTS, SOCIAL RESPONSES 93
eloquent fact that 80% of those polled said that the state should support renewable
energy sources instead of nuclear energy.’ At the same time, the overwhelming
majority of those living in and around Paks are in favor of enlarging the plant, as
they are connected to it in myriad ways.
It is also important to assess the local populations risk perception, because the
actors concerned may judge the risks and dangers of an investment project in
different ways. Among the arguments for and against a project, the technological
and economic aspects appear to carry less weight than the risks and worries about
possible accidents or harmful consequences. The low level of trust — local society
simply does not believe the authorities that a certain investment will not exceed
its limits, will not be polluting, harmful or hazardous (Szántó 2008) — plays an
important role.
During the planning phase and the implementation, the investor is always
interested in verifying the projects usefulness, safety, lack of risks and adherence
to the limits agreed upon (Fekete 2006). All this must be substantiated with
measurements, data, and statistics that may authenticate his activity. When those
concerned are not satisfied with the provided information or find it unconvincing,
they may protest, take part in the evaluation of the investment as participants or
halt it with their legal objections. As a conflict reaches the public through the
media, the arguments and interests gain greater plasticity in accordance with
presumed and real values. The perceptions, motivations and will of diverse
individuals, communities, civil networks, and political and economic groups affect
the debate. In conflicts which drag on for years, rational argumentation gives way
to emotional argumentation, but in the majority of cases a court ruling terminates
the conflict.
The parties often disagree on the nature, and importantly on the negative
impacts, of the processes which have further consequences. In Hungary, the heritage
of the socialist past very often surfaces in the form of inadequate remedies for
polluted areas, the destruction of nature, and various industrial or mining activities.
A significant number of Hungarian environmental cases involve the increased
exposure of the soil and the catchment areas and the necessity of protecting them.
Environmental problems also include excessive land use, and the expropriation
and erasure of green areas inside or outside settlements. A serious burden is smog
and the ecological pressure of traffic, primarily in the winter and spring, when
urban smog concentration may exceed the permitted amounts several times over.
Two cases
The processing and safe storage of used batteries was a salient environmental issue
in Hungary after the political turn of 1989/90, because local populations regularly
protested against the planned factories (Monok, Gyéngyésoroszi, Tatabanya,
Komló) (Szántó 2008). In more recent years, too, tensions over gigafactory plans
have emerged between the concerned populations and the developers, as well as
Miklós Hargitai: Hatástalan a propaganda: nem akarjuk Paks 2-t (The propaganda is ineffective:
we dont want Paks 2] https://nepszava.hu/3002452_hatastalan-a-propaganda-nem-akarjuk-paks¬
2-t.