Why does the East of the US have a greater acid rain problem than the West?

Question

The East where I live has a greater problem of acid rain than the west. I know that in the East more nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide is produced (which forms acid rain) but there has to be another reason too.

Answer 1

To expand on jogimo2's answer:

The eastern half of the US has over 2/3 of the US's population, therefore it stands to reason that the air is more polluted from NOx and CO2 due to more coal-burning electrical plants and cars. So its a function of population density as well as where the clouds are formed.

Also the western US generates a larger proportion of its energy from sources which don't contribute to greenhouse gases and smog, such as nuclear, wind, and hydro.

Answer 2

The reason you mentioned is the primary reason...but also, think of it geographically.
In the East you have a better chance of receiving rainfall through smog. Clouds from the Pacific have formed over the ocean, instead of over land. Therefore these clouds are cleaner, containing less acidic dust about which the clouds form. The clouds that carry the rain you will receive in the East likely formed somewhere between the Rockies and the Missisiipi River, a much more likely place to pump smog into the atmosphere than the Pacific.
I would hazard a guess that England has very little acid rain, as well.

Answer 3

The prevailing winds in the US blow from West to East.

The West coast, where most people in the West live, has only a small problem because the winds carry it away, except in a few basins like Los Angeles. The middle of the country has fewer people/industry.

The East gets everything from itself and the populated and industrial Midwest dumped on it.

Answer 4

Probably because the best engineers moved to the West Coast to solve the industrial problems there.

Answer 5

Prevailing winds move from west to east.