In Sardinia, one in 54 children is autistic: "These numbers are higher than in the rest of Italy."

In Sardinia, one in 54 children is autistic, a third of whom live in the Sassari-Olbia area, for a total of 9,800 children and adults.

This is one of the data that emerged yesterday in Sassari, in the Angioy Hall of the Provincial Palace, during the meeting, promoted by Europa Verde and ISDE, "What energy for the health of today and the future in Sardinia?"

This was provided by the regional president of the Italian Association of Doctors for the Environment, Domenico Scanu, in a report that analyzed the island's environmental problems, examining in particular the impact on children, "biological sensors" and, unfortunately, the first victims of pollution.

«One in 54 children with autism is found in the United States, where this phenomenon has been significant for 40 years», was explained in the session moderated by Melania Delogu, member of the regional executive of Europa Verde and municipal councillor in Sassari, and also attended by Beatrice Podda and Gianluigi Testoni, provincial co-spokespersons of Europa Verde.

The figure is shocking, especially considering the average for the rest of Italy is one in 84. "We need to further investigate," Scanu continues, "both genetically and socially. Why does autism have its roots here? Not to mention possible environmental causes, and therefore the possibility that certain exposure factors during pregnancy and the early years of development may also be involved."

The meeting, which included official greetings from Pierluigi Salis, deputy mayor and Sassari city councilor for Ecological Transition, was well attended and concluded with remarks from Antonio Piu, regional councilor for Public Works.

One of the questions posed at the conference was: what energy plan should be presented between now and the next few years? "We believe," said council member Todde, "that the conversion cannot be stopped. Clear rules must be established, especially regarding public-private partnerships to prevent speculation. We need to provide clear answers to businesses and to the light industry that must allow for zero bills and a conversion that must finally start from the true concept of renewable energy." "Enough with the populism," Piu emphasizes, "which serves only to prevent decisions from being made. We are concerned because, unfortunately, we continue to die from fossil fuels and we continue to depend on energy sources that, unfortunately, do not come from our government but from commercial agreements—those that are speculative."