These days, Paducah, Kentucky - population 27,000 and home to the National Quilt Museum - prides itself as "Quilt City." But decades ago, it was also called the "Atomic City" - a moniker it could soon regain as AI's energy needs bring Paducah's nuclear past back to life.
The Department of Energy (DOE) operated a uranium enrichment plant in Paducah for more than 60 years until the plant shuttered in 2013 amid a downturn in nuclear energy. The same year, Paducah was designated a UNESCO "creative city" for its quilts, a title it now boasts on its website (along with a city-led initiative to make Paducah more "considerate and kind").
Today, t …
