I love how you can do stuff like this in Compass/Sass with mixins — for styling similar but different elements

resources.scss

@mixin resource-layout(
  $width: $primary_width, 
  $language_dir: left,
  $type: discussion,
  $background_color: none, 
  $icon_width: 40px, 
  $padding: $default_padding) {  

  background-color: $background_color;
  border-top: 2px solid lighten($tarawera, 10%);
  float: $language_dir;
  width: $width;
  margin-#{opposite-position($language-dir)}: $padding;
  padding: 5px 0;
  position: relative;
  overflow: hidden;
  height: 250px;
  h3 {
    padding: 0;
    padding-#{$language_dir}: $icon_width;
    max-height: 125px;
    overflow: hidden;
    font-size: 1.3em;
  }
  object {
    margin: $padding;
  }
  div.type-icon {
    width: $icon_width;
    position: absolute;
    padding-top: 7px;
    #{$language_dir}: 0;
  }

  div.inner-wrap {
    ul.links{
      float: $language_dir;
      margin-top:$padding/2;
      li {
        padding:0;
        a.comment-responses {
          background:url('../images/response-icon.png') no-repeat center $language_dir;
          padding-#{$language_dir}: $padding*2;
          color: $alto;
        }
      }
      li.node_read_more {
        margin-#{$language_dir}:$padding*2;
      }  
    }
  }

  @if $type == "pdf" {
      border-top-color: $pdf_red!important;
  } @else if $type == "word" {
      border-top-color: $ms_word_blue!important;
  } @else if $type == "link" {
      border-top-color: $link_grey!important; 
  } @else if $type == "slides" {
      border-top-color: $slides_orange!important;
  } @else if $type == "discussion" {
      border-top-color: $link_grey!important;
      height: 200px;
  } @else if $type == "video" {
      border-top-color: $video_black!important;
      height: 300px;
      position: relative;
      .type-icon { display: none; }
      h3 {padding: 0!important; margin: 0;}
      a.comment-responses {
        position: absolute;
        bottom: 10px;
      }
    }
}

This would be implemented with a selector like this:
.teaser-pdf { @include resource-layout(20%, $direction, pdf); }
.teaser-video { @include resource-layout(30%, $direction, video); }

(You would have to be in some context where your $direction was set based on using an RTL language or not.)