Former U.S. president Bill Clinton spoke about climate change to thousands of people in Windsor on Thursday to kick off the city's 2010 Enviro Expo.

Clinton, who spoke to an audience of about 3,500 people at Caesars Casino, said global warming is a reality and can be combatted by ensuring new construction projects are energy efficient.

"What should the U.S. and Canada do?" said Clinton. "I think that we should have real high standards for new construction. You should be real proud of the fact that one Canadian city — Vancouver — is first, and one American city — believe it or not, our oil capital of Houston, Texas — is second in the energy efficiency standards they impose for new buildings. But all of our cities should copy them."

Everyone has the power to change the environment, said Clinton.

"Just do what you can with what you have and try to get others to follow your lead."

Clinton said environmentally conscious citizens and groups are an important link between time and politics.

"There will always be a gap between when we need to change and when the politics is there to actually make the change," said Clinton. "In that gap, more and more citizens and non-governmental organizations are standing, trying to figure out how to answer the 'how' question. Once you can answer the 'how' question, the politics tend to take care of themselves."

The Enviro Expo is a family-oriented event promoting green and sustainable consumer products and initiatives.

Chris Uszynski, lead organizer of the event, said people attending the expo will see a spectrum of companies promoting their environmentally friendly products.

"They'll see solar companies," said Uszynski. "They'll see a multitude of companies from wind, alternative energy, geothermal. We've got Lexus. We've got Toyota."

All proceeds from the expo will go to the Essex Region Conservation Foundation, which is dedicated to raising money to protect and improve the local environment.

Terry Patterson, past president of the foundation, said Clinton's promotion of environmental responsibility is good for the community.

"It creates a point of interest for people to have a past president of the United States here in our community, and candidly supporting the environment, and that's what we are all about," said Patterson.

At the event, Mayor Eddie Francis gave Clinton a key to the city.

The cost of the Enviro Expo is $5 and it runs Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.