Bill Clinton to speak at Boston green building conference

Former President Bill Clinton is scheduled to speak at a major conference on environmentally friendly construction in Boston.

The Democrat is slated to give the keynote address Thursday evening at the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, which bills itself as the world's largest green building conference.

The event was founded in 2002 and is run by the U.S. Green Building Council, a nonprofit that developed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, rating system.

The gathering opened Wednesday and runs through Friday at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. American astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson is scheduled to give the keynote speech Friday.

Greenbuild draws architects, interior designers, contractors, property owners, developers, engineers and government officials, as well as hundreds of suppliers and manufacturers involved in environmentally responsible construction.