Plant Vogtle in Waynesboro, Georgia is the site of the nuclear renaissance. Commercial nuclear energy reactors are being built for the for the first time in the U.S. since the 1979 partial meltdown at Three Mile Island. Like the boomtowns that emerged from rapid industrial expansion, Waynesboro’s population increase will be short-lived. Workers come from across the country for temporary jobs such as welding and running power lines from the new cooling towers. While some residents embrace the plant, others have fought against it since the first two reactors were built in the 1980’s and they witnessed health and economic decline. Most recently, a community of activists has risen up. Health, as they see it, is a currency that is being exchanged for temporary jobs.

Waynesboro is likely to be the first of many cities grappling with these issues, as the nuclear renaissance continues to spread across the southeast and nuclear energy is revitalized as a solution in the climate change battle.