What Was Nephi’s Role on His Ship? – Part III

Continued from the previous two posts regarding a critique sent about Nephi and his role on the ship he built, as well as Jerusalem and Georgia being on the same latitudinal line. Below we respond to the third critique:
    Comment: “Mediterranean is not the necessary environment for planting. It's latitude”
    Response: Jerusalem is a dry, arid, subtropical climate (Köppen Csa; warm temperature, summer dry, cool winters), 21” rainfall a year; no snow, called a Mediterranean Climate, which only exists along a west coast of a continent, and is found in only five places in the world—and only two in the entire Western Hemisphere. It is the most unique climate in the world.
    Consider that along the latitude of Georgia is Tucson, Arizona; Ensenada, Mexico; Marrakech, Morocco; Béchar, Algeria; Mizdah, Libya, Baltim, Egypt, An-Najat, Iraq; Shūshtar, Iran; Al-Hamad desert Arabia; Qandahar, Afghanistan; Faisalabad, Pakistan; Moshiārpur, India; Ganghu, China; Miyazaki, Japan; and Nanking, China. For the most part, these are considerably different climate zones from that of either Jerusalem or Georgia, all along the same basic latitudinal line.

As for latitude being the important criteria for planting, the major factor regarding global climate is that the equator receives more direct sunlight than other parts of the planet, which causes the air there to heat up and rise. The planet is spinning on its axis, so when air rises, it gets defected north or south. The rising air loses pressure, cools, and expands, losing the water vapor it gained at the equator in the form of equatorial rain. High up in the atmosphere, this dry, expanding air spreads out in all directions and falls back to Earth, and the air moving north and south falling around the 30th latitudes. In falling, the dry air increases in pressure and heat again. Dry, warm air, falling around 30°, right where the Earth’s major deserts are … not a coincidence, nor is it a coincidence that is where is found the Mediterranean Climates, and also is the factor governing the location of all climates.
    This shows that latitude is one factor, such as all Mediterranean Climates are between 30-45º North and South latitudes, however, the Mediterranean Climate is only found on the west coast of continents at these latitudes (and around the Mediterranean Sea), because of the cold offshore currents prevail. On the other hand, Warm Humid Subtropical Climates occur between 20-30º North and South latitudes along the southeast coasts of continents—which create very different climates in various areas of the globe.

Warm, humid, subtropical climates of the world. The entire state of George falls within this southeastern climate area of the U.S. in North America 

A warm humid subtropical climate is characterized by hot and humid summers, and mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents, generally between latitudes 25° and 35° and are located in North America from the U.S. southern states from Virginia to Texas, and on the east coast of Australia, southern Brazil, Uruguay, northern Argentina, east coast of Africa, eastern China, Korea, Japan and Eastern Europe (including the Balkans, Romania, the Caucasus and northern Turkey). This climate is characterized by hot, muggy weather with rainfall ranging from 40-80 inches annually, and for plants to live in this type climate, they must be able to withstand extreme seasonal and temperature changes. 

Mediterranean Climates have relatively mild, cool and wet winters between 30 and 65 degrees; and very dry, warm summers, with all summer months averaging above 50 degrees 

The Mediterranean climate’s wet winter and dry summer seasonality of precipitation is the defining characteristic of this climate, and is home to plants that can survive long dry summers. Evergreens such as Pine and Cypress trees are mixed with deciduous trees such as some Oaks.  Fruit trees and vines such as grapes, figs, olives, and citrus fruits grow well here.  Other plants include what are called "scrub", which include small shrubs, grasses, and herbs.  The resulting vegetation of Mediterranean climates are the garrigue (soft-leaved scrubland) in the Mediterranean Basin, the chaparral (hard-leafed, short intermodes) in California, the fynbos (low-growing woody vegetation) of South Africa and the Chilean scrubland or matorral in Chile. Areas with this climate are where the so-called "Mediterranean trinity" has traditionally developed: wheat, vine and olive.
    Also, the Mediterranean climate occurs on the poleward borders of the 30° desert zones. Obviously, then, the region of the Earth that receives the most perpendicular sunlight, which oscillates between the tropics as the tilted planet revolves around the sun. So in the northern summer, the region of falling, warm air shifts north as the region with the most perpendicular insolation approaches the Tropic of Cancer. In the winter the opposite happens, and cooler temperatures and rain results, while the warmer air shifts to the southern hemisphere.

Along the 31º South Latitude is where all the Mediterranean Climates (yellow) are found, both in the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere 

Along this same 31º S. latitudinal line in the Southern Hemisphere are also found: “Desert Tropical” (gray); “Humid Temperate” (brown); “Oceanic Temperate” (black); “Warm, Wet and Temperate (red); “Humid subtropical” (dark purple); “Marine Coast” (lite purple)—all suggesting a varied climate along one single latitudinal line in the south.
    In the Northern Hemisphere along the 31º N. latitudinal line again are found varied climates: “Arid Cool Desert” (light red); “Humid subtropical” (green); “Desert subtropical (orange); “Hot Summer Continental (dark blue);“Semi-arid steppe (light blue); ”Moist Maritime” (white). 
    Thus, while the latitude can determine some climates, it is the climate that determines the growth of crops and plants and which plants will grow where. As an example, while a single latitude will stretch across a desert, such as in the southwest states of the U.S., that same latitude crosses the subtropical climate of the southeast states; or the same latitude that crosses the tropical regions of Central America, also crosses the arid deserts of northern Africa as well as the temperate climates of northern India and eastern China; or the same latitude that crosses the hot, arid climate of Saudi Arabia also crosses the tropical climate of Pakistan as well as the temperate climate of western China; or the latitude that crosses the cold arid climate of Mongolia and Kazakhstan, also crosses the temperate climate of northern Italy, northern and western Spain, and the continental climate of the northeastern United States.

Lehi’s course from the Mediterranean Climate of Jerusalem to the Mediterranean Climate of the Western Hemisphere—Central Chile 

Consequently, it cannot be said that “the necessary environment for planting is latitude, not climate,” which is a complete fallacy! And the seeds that Lehi brought from Jerusalem, which they planted in the Land of Promise upon arrival (1 Nephi 18:24), grew exceedingly, which tells any agriculturist that those seeds were planted in a like climate and soil type as where they were developed—in Jerusalem, a Mediterranean Climate, as only Central Chile and Southern California have in all of the Western Hemisphere. Had they not been planted in a like climate, it is most likely they would not have grown at all, or if they did, they would have grown very poorly. The pilgrims found this out in their first year at Plymouth, when the seeds they brought from Leiden in the Netherlands, which has a (Cfb) Warm Oceanic Climate, 50º average temperature, and a rainfall of 31 inches. These seeds they planted at Plymouth in Massachusetts, which is a Cold, Humid Continental Climate (Dfb), with severe winters, no dry season, and heavy rainfall of 49 inches. Had the Patuxet (Wampanoag confederation) Indian Tisquantum (Squanto), not shown them how to plant Indian corn when the Pilgrim‘s seeds brought from the Netherlands died in the ground, the Plymouth colony most likely would not have survived.