As to the climate, as a result of huge factory smokestacks belching out black smoke from the burning of coal, the atmosphere slowly began to change and severely affected rainfall patterns and created variations in the temperature of the air. This was the beginning of what we now call acid rain, a combination of water and carbon dioxide which slowly pollutes everything it comes in contact with, such as aboveground water sources (lakes, rivers and wells) and even the land itself in the form of run-off which eventually ends up in agricultural areas where food is grown and harvested.

With earth's landforms, the excavation and removal of coal in such places as England and the Eastern United States greatly devastated the natural landscape by leaving behind immense sections of land stripped bare and left wide open to further erosion by rain and wind. Since iron ore, copper and tin were three of the main natural resources necessary for industrial growth...

For example, with the removal of these and other natural resources, the surrounding land failed to physically support itself, resulting in landslides and mudslides which undercut the bases of forests and timberlands. Overall, the environmental impact of the Industrial
Revolution set the course for the future destruction of our natural habitats with one of the results being consistent air and water pollution and even global warming.

References

Pursuing the Ideal Society." (2007). Ricoh. Internet. Retrieved at http://www.ricoh.com/environment/management/earth.html.

The Industrial Revolution and Its Environmental Impacts." (2007). Learning Space. Internet. Retrieved at http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/resource / view.php?id=94548.