> the claim is based on the reduction in air pollution. That has been heavily improved in the last years by a better car design, better materials, motor burnin

> the claim is based on the reduction in air pollution. That has been heavily improved in the last years by a better car design, better materials, motor burning regulated by electronics and a much more strict regulation in vehicle emissions. Thus nuclear would be bragging here about other's merits. Using the same argument we could claim also that combustible fossils had saved millions of lives in the last years because cars now have much more plastic parts than before (reduced weight -> less mass to move -> less fuel spent to move it -> less air pollution).