2011 in the environment

Revenge of the Electric Car is a 2011 American feature documentary film by Chris Paine, who also directed Who Killed the Electric Car?. The documentary, executive produced by Stefano Durdic, and produced by PG Morgan and Jessie Deeter, had its world premiere at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival on Earth Day, April 22, 2011. The theatrical release to the public took place on October 21, 2011.

Semper Fi: Always Faithful, is a documentary film about the Camp Lejeune water contamination. The film made the 15 film short list for consideration for a 2012 Academy Award for best documentary feature. The film, which debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2011, has a 100% "fresh" rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, indicating highly positive critical reviews. The film won a documentary editing award at Tribeca and The Ridenhour Documentary Film Prize 2012. The Society of Professional Journalists presented it with its Sigma Delta Chi Award for Best Television Documentary (Network).

If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front is a 2011 American documentary film by filmmaker Marshall Curry. It tells the story of activist Daniel G. McGowan of the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), from his first arson attacks in 1996 to his 2005 arrest by the Department of Justice. The film also examines the ethics of the ELF and the nature of eco-terrorism.

Eco-Pirate: The Story of Paul Watson is a 2011 documentary film directed by Trish Dolman and produced by Kevin Eastwood. It follows radical conservationist Paul Watson during anti-whaling campaigns in the Antarctic in 2009 and 2010, and recounts his history and controversial methods as an activist and media personality. It premiered May 1, 2011 at the Hot Docs Documentary Film Festival.

The 2011 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP17) was held in Durban, South Africa, from 28 November to 11 December 2011 to establish a new treaty to limit carbon emissions.

The Fukushima nuclear accident was a major nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan, which began on 11 March 2011. The proximate cause of the accident was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which resulted in electrical grid failure and damaged nearly all of the power plant's backup energy sources. The subsequent inability to sufficiently cool reactors after shutdown compromised containment and resulted in the release of radioactive contaminants into the surrounding environment. The accident was rated seven (the maximum severity) on the International Nuclear Event Scale by Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, following a report by the JNES (Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization). It is regarded as the worst nuclear incident since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, which was also rated a seven on the International Nuclear Event Scale.

Trident Seafoods is the largest seafood company in the United States, harvesting primarily wild-caught seafood in Alaska.

On the Line is a 2011 Canadian documentary by Frank Wolf that investigates the risks and consequences associated with the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines project. The film is set in the context of a 2,400 km biking, hiking, rafting and kayaking journey that two friends embark on from the Alberta oil sands to the British Columbia coast. As the pair travel the proposed pipeline route, they encounter a broad cross-section of people who voice their perspective on the issues associated with the project. It won the 'Spirit of Action Prize' at the 2012 Santa Cruz Film Festival and was chosen for the VIFF Selects section at the 2011 Vancouver International Film Festival. It airs on CBC's documentary (TV channel) in Canada multiple times through 2015. The film features music by Peirson Ross, Terry Jacks, Chilliwack, Kola Collective, Phontaine, Tessa Amy, and Eric Stanger.

Ashes to Honey (ミツバチの羽音と地球の回転, Mitsubachi no haoto to chikyū no kaiten), (literally "Humming of Bees and Rotation of the Earth") is a Japanese documentary directed by Hitomi Kamanaka and released in 2010. It is the third in Kamanaka's trilogy of films on the problems of nuclear power and radiation, preceded by Hibakusha at the End of the World (also known as Radiation: A Slow Death) and Rokkasho Rhapsody.

The western black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis longipes) or West African black rhinoceros is an extinct subspecies of the black rhinoceros. It was declared extinct by the IUCN in 2011. The western black rhinoceros was believed to have been genetically different from other rhino subspecies. It was once widespread in the savanna of sub-Saharan Africa, but its numbers declined due to poaching. The western black rhinoceros resided primarily in Cameroon, but surveys since 2006 have failed to locate any individuals.