[media-credit name=’Allison Welch’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]Peter Agre, a 2003 Nobel Prize winner, spoke Wednesday evening at Birge Hall about why he is taking an active role in the upcoming presidential election.

“Ludicrous accusations” of the U.S. government against his colleague, Dr. Thomas C. Butler, sparked Agre’s interest in political activism, he said.

Agre said Butler is well known for his work with bubonic-plague bacteria, which was put on a list of bio-terror weapons after Sept. 11, 2001. Butler researched the plague because he wanted to help poor countries in Eastern Africa, where the plague is prevalent and causes many forms of human disease.

Samples of the plague disappeared from Butler’s laboratory Jan. 15, 2003, which sparked FBI involvement. There was no evidence of a break-in at the laboratory and many believed the samples had been routinely destroyed. Butler, Agre said, made the mistake of allowing interrogations without his lawyer.

Butler would not agree to sign a statement verifying he destroyed the samples, saying that he did not remember doing so. Eventually, Butler was arrested.

The U.S. Department of Justice piled 69 minor charges on Butler, who was pushed to agree to a plea bargain. He opted to maintain his innocence and refused to sign the bargain.

Although he was cleared of all serious charges, Butler was given a minimum prison sentence of two years, which he is currently serving.

Agre described Butler as a man of strong personal integrity and says this is an example of the government abusing the law to convince people it is combating terrorism.

“I feel strongly that the actions of our government were grossly incorrect; this is huge overkill,” Agre said.

Agre, a professor of biological chemistry at John Hopkins School of Medicine, stressed the importance of Wisconsin in the election.

“Wisconsin has a very, very important role in the future of our country. Vote –your votes — will make a big difference,” Agre said.

Education and illiteracy, particularly scientific illiteracy, is an important issue to Agre. The drastically declining number of people who read books and newspapers is alarming, he said.

“There is major work in education that needs to be done in the U.S.,” Agre said.

Agre spoke on behalf of Scientists and Engineers for Change. The newly formed organization is comprised of 48 Nobel Prize winners who signed a letter endorsing Sen. John Kerry’s bid for the presidency.

Scientists and Engineers for Change’s purpose “is to ensure that issues affected by science and technology are fully explored in the 2004 presidential election and that the nation’s scientists and engineers recognize the stakes involved and actively participate in the political process,” according to the group’s website.

The group believes Kerry’s election would have a positive impact on science.

“[The Bush] administration’s politicization and misuse of science have made it increasingly difficult for science to play its rightful role in public policy-making,” the website states.

Agre says the Bush administration “is playing Russian roulette” with environmental concerns.

Jessi Schober, co-chair of Students for Bush, said that the environment is a small issue in the overall scope of the election.

“Kerry is very idealistic, but Bush is much more practical,” Schober said. “Anyway, what kind of car does [Kerry] drive?”

Schober added President Bush’s plans for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge affect an extremely low percentage of land.