In the 1914 case of The State of Georgia v. Tennessee Copper Company and the Ducktown Sulphur, Copper & Iron Company, Limited, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Georgia's right to protect its natural resources from out-of-state pollution sources. The state had sued two copper companies located in Tennessee for releasing sulphurous gases that were damaging forests and crops across state lines in Georgia. This was one of the first cases where a state sought legal remedy for air pollution originating from another state - an issue which is now addressed by federal environmental laws. In their decision, the justices emphasized states' rights to safeguard their own natural resources against harmful external influences.

In the dissenting opinion for The State of Georgia v. Tennessee Copper Company and the Ducktown Sulphur, Copper & Iron Company, Limited case in 1914, Justice Holmes disagreed with the majority's decision to grant an injunction against two copper companies accused of causing air pollution that was damaging forests and crops in Georgia. He argued that while it is true that states have a right to protect their natural resources from harm caused by out-of-state entities, this principle should not be applied without considering other factors such as economic implications. In his view, if a state could sue every time its interests were harmed by another state or entity therein - even when there are no clear violations of rights - then interstate commerce would become impossible due to endless litigation. Furthermore, he believed that granting an injunction based on potential future damages was speculative and inappropriate since actual damage had not yet been proven beyond reasonable doubt.