If a conversation started with “What are the three Rs?”, most people would jump to the conclusion that the subject was the basics of learning. To succeed in school, we have been taught that you need to succeed in the three Rs: writing, reading and arithmetic.

Although I cannot fathom the marketing genius behind naming something with only one word beginning with the right letter, we all agree that to be successful in learning we need skills in each of the three R’s.

To be good caretakers of our planet, we need to be just as successful in all three R’s of living green: reducing, reusing and recycling.

Most people associate the call to reduce, reuse and recycle with the triangular infinity symbol of folded arrows. The symbol was actually designed by an architectural student in a contest in 1970, shortly after the very first Earth Day.

A paperboard company, Container Corp. of America, sponsored a nationwide contest for art and design students to create a symbol that would represent the company’s commitment as the largest U.S. user of recycled fiber (in the 1970s, mind you).

Gary Dean Anderson, a graduate student in architecture and urban design at the University of Southern California, submitted the winning symbol and won the competition from among 500 entries. In an act of corporate largesse not seen today, the CCA never copyrighted the symbol, and thus we see it today as a global, universal symbol.

The genius behind the three-R symbol is that is represents a closed loop: Everything is dependent on the success of completing each apex, and then — whoosh — we go around again.

As we live together on a planet with finite resources, the more times we can successfully complete the loop, the better off we will be. However, to gain the momentum to come around again and again, we all need to train ourselves to be adept in each of the three Rs.

Reduce

Reducing is the beginning step and the most important skill of the three Rs. The simple definition is to not use as much.

It’s a powerful concept: If we don’t use it, we don’t have to reuse it or recycle it. Easy ways to reduce are to avoid using plastic bags for groceries and not buy bottled water. Sure, you can recycle those items, but our planet would be much better off if we simply didn’t use them at all.

By conserving our resources before they are used, we avoid wasting what we don’t have enough of.

Reuse

Reusing is the middle ground and the hardest for a nation of consumers to fathom. If we “have to have it,” but then don’t want it anymore, we should give it to others who can use it.

The definition of reuse is finding a second use for something that will still end up in the landfill, such as using a plastic grocery bag to pick up dog waste. It’s finding a long-term solution for something so that when we are done with it, it lives on.

Examples of reuse are using the lumber of a barn that was torn down for flooring, or donating clothes to charity. If we buy more thoughtfully and then take care of our purchases by using them longer, we reduce. But when we are done, by sharing them with others, we reuse.

Recycle

Recycling is the end of the loop, and for us to be successful, it needs to be more automatic. We need more recycled material to take the place of raw materials.

Therefore, we need to recycle more. We need to recycle with a passion and let nothing that could be recycled ever end up as garbage.

For a change: Recycle. Buy products that can be recycled and are made from recycled content, like paper products. Close the loop with your consumer spending.

To make a difference: Reuse. Take care of what you have, repair it before you throw it away, and when you are done with it, always sell or donate it.

To make a stand: Reduce. Conserve. The less we use before we waste, the more of the planet we can save.

• Christina D.B. Frankel is a 20-year Tracy resident, architect and mother of three. Her column, Living Green, runs twice monthly in the Tracy Press. She can be reached at cdfrankel@sbcglobal.net.