A group of fracking protesters in England were arrested Monday when they reportedly glued and chained themselves to gasoline pumps at a retail station they thought was owned by French oil major Total. The group was protesting against the oil company’s regional gas develop operations, but embarrassingly Total no longer owns the station. The service station’s manager said while some protesters were peaceful, the ones who shackled themselves to the pumps “were stupid and have cost us a lot of money…We had to close for six hours, so with the loss of customers and the damage to the pumps, it could be a couple of thousand pounds we have lost.” [Breitbart.com]

In more serious fracking news, the European Commission issued non-binding recommendations to member countries in an effort to help safeguard the environment and public health from potential impacts associated with the controversial technology. “The Commission’s recommendations include the careful assessments of the environmental impact and risks of shale gas projects, informing the public about which chemicals are used, insuring industry best practices are used, and the close monitoring of water, soil and air quality.” [AFP]

Back in the US and speaking of industry best practices, US Energy Secretary Moniz said yesterday he believes the challenges associated with safely conducting hydraulic fracturing operations are “manageable.” And although “Best practices have not always been applied all the time…The job is to get out there and manage those environmental impacts…and one way or another, get best practices in place all the time, everywhere.” [FuelFix]