35-foot-tall polar bear stands guard at SF Ferry Building

A 35-foot-tall polar bear sculpture made from car hoods looms tall in front of the San Francisco Ferry Building during the Global Climate Action Summit, September 2018. A 35-foot-tall polar bear sculpture made from car hoods looms tall in front of the San Francisco Ferry Building during the Global Climate Action Summit, September 2018. Photo: Mike Senese Photo: Mike Senese Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close 35-foot-tall polar bear stands guard at SF Ferry Building 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

San Francisco isn't polar bear habitat, but for this week's Global Climate Action Summit a very tall Arctic bruin is in town.

A 35-foot-high sculpture of a bear made from car hoods salvaged from junkyards stands guard in front of the Ferry Plaza Building.

"Long View Polar Bear" by Santa Fe artist Don Kennell is a key public art piece for the summit today through Saturday (Sept. 12-15). It is meant to highlight the plight of polar bears, whose Arctic habitat is disappearing rapidly due to a changing climate.

"It's a polar bear in search of habitat and she's searching for allies so she's on a tour to be a focal point to gather people together to come together and act collectively and individually on climate change," says Lisa Adler who manages Kennell's work and their design firm DKLA. "The message has to do with the idea that all live is interconnected and what's happening to polar bears affects humans."

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The sculpture was built in the Black Rock Desert during this year's Burning Man Festival and then transported to San Francisco. Adler says San Jose and Las Vegas are among the other spots where the bear will spread its message on climate change.

Business leaders, mayors, governors and activists from around the world are descending upon San Francisco today for the Global Climate Action Summit. Participants are expected to introduce new ideas to address climate change and pledge trillions of dollars for spending on cleaner energy.