There are many, many things Justin Timberlake and I have in common.   For example, we’re both working extremely hard on bringing sexy back.   And, we both know every single N*Sync song by heart.   We both are big on environmentally-friendly action.   Also, we both love golf.   Now, some might quibble at this last similarity, as Timberlake is known to be a “good” golfer, while I am known to be “absolutely godawful,” but that’s neither here nor there.

Regardless, Memphis Daily News reports Timberlake has combined the last two parts of that list with the money he’s made from the first two parts on that list to help create the United States’ first LEED-certified golf course.   The course, Woodstock Hills outside of Memphis, is going to be PGA Tour quality, while still being greener than your regular golf course, if you catch my drift.   Cause, there’s lots of grass on a golf course…and when things are environmentally sound they’re called “green”…and…well…you know what?  Let’s steal a Timberlake quote from ecorazzi on this one and get back on track.

After we had the golf course we said why don’t we refurbish it and make it even nicer for the community. Then I asked questions about what we could possibly do, and we found out we could actually make it a green course. So when it’s finished this summer it will be a Platinum LEED certified green course. The first in the United States of America, so that’s pretty exciting that you could take all that land and make it eco-friendly.

PLATINUM certified.

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In Danville, California, a construction company is building a tract of green luxury homes - so green, in fact, that there’s a Prius waiting for you in the garage if you buy one of these properties.   Clarum Homes is building 10 homes all valued around $2 million, and are being certified by LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), a set of standards from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The Contra Costa Times tells us that, “The homes use solar power, with solar hot water heaters, special heating and cooling systems, Web-based irrigation controllers and a host of other features.”  And, did we mention, they’re just throwing in a Prius?  This kind of reminds me of how these days Ticketmaster gives you a free iTunes download if you buy a ticket.   Sure, we’ve tacked on 168% in convenience fees, but here’s a 99 cent download.

Regardless, the fact that there’s enough of a demand for these homes in the top one percent is a good thing.   And, somehow, I doubt there’s actually a lot of similarities in paying $32 for a $13 concert ticket, and $2 million for a 3,600 square foot home.   Anyhow, you can takepart here to learn some various ways you can green your home, just in case you don’t have the money to drop on a luxury home/Prius combo.

Real estate developers are finding that it pays to save the planet, according to the CoStar Group, a commercial real estate news service. CoStar cites the The Year’s Top 10 Green Stories, including the news that the sustainable design rating system known as LEED certification “is now the clear-cut favorite among U.S. rating systems,” giving green building a big boost in this country.CoStar also singles out Wal-Mart for promising to reduce energy use by one-third in its stores by 2010 “via solar power programs, green roofs and an energy-efficient store prototype launched this year.” Wal-Mart may be the devil, but, hey, I guess even Satan can only take so much heat. If the big box behemoth wants to board the sustainability bandwagon, shouldn’t we scoot over and let them take a seat?

With all its gaudy neon and nonstop glitz, Las Vegas doesn’t get a gold star for energy efficiency–yet. But that’s about to change, thanks to MGM, which is constructing the nation’s most expensive LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design) private development, according to the CS Monitor.

The 68-acre, $7.5 billion complex, called CityCenter, will feature a casino, hotels, condos, shops, and a convention center. The decision to make the complex ultra-energy efficient is a win-win for MGM; first, it will benefit from a rebate on state sales and property taxes for construction that meets the LEED standards, and second, MGM expects to save a bundle on operating costs. The 10 hotels it already owns on the Strip run up a daily electric bill of $350,000. Yes, daily.

The decision to go green has not been without complications, though. MGM couldn’t find suitably luxurious low-flow faucets, so it had to have a faucet specially designed to meet its specifications. An extravagance, perhaps, but it’s not money down the drain; with the west’s water growing ever more scarce, a complex like CityCenter has no choice but to conserve. What better place to build an eco-friendly development than an irrigated desert famous for its electrifying excess?