Carbon offsets are not "direct action." They are by definition indirect. Direct action:

- Go vegan. Everyone eats. This is easily the biggest step an individual can make.

- Only drive a car when you can't get there by foot, bike or public transport

- Buy local

- Stop flying for leisure, at all if possible

- If you have disposable income, support charities like "Trees for the Future" (trees.org) that don't just plant random trees, but have a sustainable business model to green individual farmers and villages.